


Runs In The Family

by lieutenantaclassi



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Frottage, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rape, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 23:55:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 82,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9521657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieutenantaclassi/pseuds/lieutenantaclassi
Summary: Noctis doesn't really know what he wants out of his life, and it's making him miserable. Part of him just wants to be a "normal" person with "normal" problems, but being the son of a yakuza boss makes that a lot harder than it should be.





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking your time to check out this story! I've written a bunch of FFXV stuff, but not published anything so far.
> 
> A brief note about the warnings:  
> I'm not entirely sure how much will be explicitly shown and what will just be talked about, but for now I've chosen to have the graphic depiction of violence warning because it IS an organized crime AU and shit will go down. There will also possibly be scenes depicting rape or non-consensual sexual situations, so I want that to be out there from the beginning so no one gets any unpleasant surprises that they did not want to read about.  
> Other than that, enjoy!

Noctis sighed heavily as he exited the library, his bag heavy with a bunch of books he had borrowed. He could simply have ordered and paid for them without a problem, but he liked libraries for some reason. And having them on a limited time also made it more likely that he’d read them and not just have them piling up on his desk, waiting to be opened up.

At least that was Noctis’ theory, but after about three years of attempts it hadn’t really proved to work that well. Some would probably say that his theory had been falsified at this point, but one could always hope.

Noctis was just about to head over the street when he spotted the Regalia, his father’s old car, parked further down on the road. He couldn’t help grimacing even if it wasn’t a single bit surprising, but for a while he had _almost_ thought that he hadn’t been under watch during the day. Noctis should have known better, though. His father insisted on Noctis having bodyguards around at all times, after all.

Being the son of a yakuza-member was certainly not the easiest life. Especially not when the parent was a boss.

Regis Lucis Caelum was not just the head of one clan, he was the one in charge over the entire Caelum syndicate. It was a family with many branches and many clans underneath it, its power well known to everyone. Regis was a very powerful man, and powerful men usually had enemies. Noctis was painfully aware of that, having been part of it for his entire life.

An unwilling part, if he was being honest. But Regis was trying his best to give Noctis the life he wanted. Just to be _normal_. But ever since the attack when he was eight years old, and he almost got kidnapped, his father had gotten very strict about his security.

It had been hard, and still was. But at least Noctis considered his main bodyguards his friends.

After observing the car for a while, Noctis sighed once more and headed up to it, tapping the window and waiting for it to be lowered. He leaned down and looked inside.

“You know, if you’re trying to be discreet… it’s not really working,” Noctis drawled and tilted his head to the side, “You could just drive up to me, Specs.”

Ignis sighed and pushed his glasses up a bit as he looked over at Noctis.

“I am aware that I wasn’t being particularly inconspicuous, but I do not necessarily want to disrupt your daily life,” he said, letting his hands fall to the steering wheel again, “You know that, Noct.”

“You are kinda part of my daily life,” Noctis muttered as he finally gave in and opened the car door, sitting down in the passenger’s seat, “Might as well drive me back home if you’re gonna trail me, huh?”

“Well, if that is what you want.”

“Yeah,” Noctis murmured and looked out of the window. It was actually a nice day for a walk, but he was honestly not in the mood for it. He felt tired anyway. Really tired.

Ignis started the engine, but before he started driving he frowned and looked over at Noctis. He was worried about him. It wasn’t something new, though; Ignis had worried pretty much ever since he had been assigned as one of Noctis’ bodyguards.

It had been about four years soon, he realized. His job was to protect Noctis with his life, along with Gladiolus Amicitia. Over the years Ignis had become a bit more of a caretaker, too. Not because Regis had assigned him that particular task, but because Ignis himself wanted to.

Someone had to look after Noctis since he was doing quite a poor job of it himself, so Ignis was left making sure the young man ate and slept at somewhat proper times. Gladio used to tell Ignis that he was babying Noctis, and maybe he was right. But he hadn’t seen Noctis the same way Ignis had.

“Home, was it?” Ignis asked once he forced himself to stop looking at Noctis, “Any stops?”

“Just home,” Noctis said tiredly, “But can you take the road by the water?”

“Of course,” Ignis nodded as he looked in the rear-view mirror before driving out onto the road again, “Feeling scenic today?”

“The weather is nice today,” Noctis commented, as if that confirmed it, “I like seeing the sky reflected in the water. It’s relaxing.”

“No fishing?”

“Nah,” Noctis shook his head, “Not feeling up to it today.”

“Thank God,” Ignis let out a sigh of relief, “Last time I joined you I could hardly get the smell of fish out of my clothes. Fresh fish is great for cooking, but I prefer buying it packaged.”

Noctis snorted as he looked over at Ignis. He remembered that very well. Ignis had tried to not complain or show his dislike, but the look of disgust on his face had said it all. Ignis was definitely not much of an outdoor man, but he’d dutifully follow Noctis if he headed out.

“No one forced you to help me, you could just have watched.”

“That would have been quite rude.”

“For being a yakuza bodyguard you are surprisingly squeamish,” Noctis said teasingly, which only earned him an eyeroll from Ignis, “I’ll take Gladio next time I want to fish, since he actually _enjoys_ the outdoors. Swear he could move out there… if there’s someone who’d make it in the wild, it’s him.”

Ignis chuckled as he thought of it, and Noctis was probably right. Gladio seemed to be the kind of person who could be thrown into any situation and survive. Which probably was why Regis had picked him out as Noctis' main bodyguard. He was to make sure that Noctis was safe and unharmed. Of course that was also part of Ignis’ job, but Gladio was the main muscle and had been protecting Noctis at least one year longer. And two bodyguards were safer than one, too. There were others too, of course. Just no one working as close to Noctis as Ignis and Gladio were.

“So, how was your day?”

Noctis shrugged as he rested his head against the palm of his hand, gaze still stuck on the horizon as they got closer to the lake.

“Same old,” he murmured, “I went to my lectures, stayed at the library, picked out some books…”

“Interesting?”

Noctis turned to look at Ignis, a blank expression on his face.

“Ah yes, economy and finances lights a fire within me like nothing else does.”

“You are not required to study those classes, are you?” Ignis asked with a raised eyebrow, briefly glancing at Noctis before focusing on the road again, “I believe your father was very open to you doing what _you_ want to do. If it bores you that much, you could stop.”

Noctis sighed and looked out the window again. Ignis was right, Noctis wasn’t exactly required to study anything specific related to the business. Regis just wanted Noctis to be happy and do what he enjoyed.

The main issue was that Noctis himself hardly knew what he enjoyed in life. Perhaps it was related to having lived under such extreme protection. He hardly had any friends overlooking Ignis and Gladio.

Well, there was Iris, too. But they didn’t have all that much in common except knowing Gladio. She was nice, though, he had to admit that. And then there was Luna, a childhood friend, but they only kept in touch through mail and hadn’t seen each other since Noctis was 12.

The fact that his only real friends were his two closest bodyguards was perhaps a bit tragic, too. Even going to university hadn’t earned him any friends. Probably because Noctis was both shy and awkward. And quite introverted, as Ignis had put it once. People had tried to start conversations with him, but he was pretty awful at making small talk so in the end he spent most of his time in school on his own. As well as home, unless Ignis or Gladio were around.

“Yeah… Dad doesn’t really care if I don’t wanna study things that could be of use to… you know, the family,” Noctis said after a while and sighed. He felt a bit at ease as he looked at the water, “I could drop out. But I don’t really know what to do then…”

“Study something else? Work?”

“Where?” Noctis grimaced, “I don’t want work from Dad.”

“Your father is in charge of many legitimate businesses, Noct,” Ignis pointed out, even if they both knew that many of those businesses simply were covers for illegal activities, “You are aware of that, right?”

“Of course I am,” Noctis sighed, “That’s why I figured taking some courses in business would do some good…”

“Yet you do not want to work for him?” Ignis asked with a raised eyebrow, “Noct, that makes no sense at all.”

“Can we not talk about this right now?” Noctis complained after a while and crossed his arms, “I’m tired, and thinking about the future just gives me a headache.”

“Ah, of course,” Ignis said, “I apologize.”

“Don’t,” Noctis simply said before he leaned his head against the window, looking out. He knew Ignis just meant well. He always had Noctis’ best in mind, which made it impossible for him to get seriously annoyed at Ignis.

The lake was slowly disappearing out of view, making him feel a bit sour again. Ignis seemed to sense it, and they spent the rest of the ride in silence.

 

* * *

 

As they arrived at Noctis’ apartment, Gladio was standing outside the door, greeting them with a grin on his face. It did however fall a bit as he took a good look at Noctis, who didn’t seem to look very happy. In fact, he looked pretty miserable.

“Hey, took you long enough.”

“You can enter, you know,” Noctis said as he dug out his keycard from a pocket, “You both have keyscards to my apartment, right?”

“You don’t always want us around,” Gladio commented with a shrug, “Privacy and all that. You letting us in or do you want alone time?”

Noctis shrugged as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, dropping his bag of books in the hallway before getting his shoes off and wandering in, but he did not close the door.

Ignis and Gladio exchanged a look before stepping inside after Noctis. If he didn’t explicitly say no, it usually meant he was fine with them doing whatever they wanted in his apartment. For Ignis that usually meant cooking something, or tidying up after Noctis. The apartment would probably be buried in trash if Ignis didn’t regularly clean up.

Gladio still thought Ignis was doing too much for Noctis, spoiling him. But Ignis refused to budge whenever Gladio told him to stop babying Noctis, so in the end he had just settled for mostly silently disagreeing. Not that it was his job to decide over Ignis. And doing those chores was one way to pass the time. Gladio usually settled down on the couch and read a bit. Or watched TV. He’d _never_ start cleaning up after Noctis as if he was some damned housemaid. But each to their own.

If Noctis felt up to it, they’d all sometimes come together and watch some stupid show or movie. Or play that popular game, King’s Knight. But those times had been less and less frequent lately, as Noctis spent more and more time in his room on his own.

Today was definitely one of those days since Noctis was heading for his room right away.

“Noct, are you hungry?” Ignis called, making Noctis stop just as he was about to step into his bedroom.

“Not really, no.”

“Are you sure?” Ignis prodded, obviously concerned about Noctis’ lack of appetite, “I could make something.”

“Feel free to use whatever is in the kitchen for you or Gladio,” Noctis shrugged, “But I’m fine. I can make something later.”

With that, Noctis slipped into his bedroom and closed the door. The clicking noise they heard afterwards was a clear indication that he had locked the door.

Gladio sighed and shook his head, looking from the door over to Ignis.

“Has he been that broody all day?”

“From what I have seen, yes,” Ignis murmured and crossed his arms as he leaned against a kitchen counter, “I must admit I’m quite concerned.”

Gladio could only agree with Ignis. That Noctis was broody and tired wasn’t exactly news, but lately he had been even more mellow than usual. And he spent a lot of time sleeping. More time than any normal human would need to sleep. If he even was sleeping, maybe he just liked lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. Gladio couldn’t be sure about that unless he went into Noctis’ room, and that was stepping over a line unless given permission to enter. Unless you were Ignis. He seemed to have a free pass sometimes.

“You know,” Gladio began and sighed, “...teenagers.”

“This strikes me as something different from your ordinary broody teenage phase,” Ignis said as he pushed himself away from the counter, opening up a couple of mostly empty cupboards, Gladio could see the look of disapproval on Ignis’ face, “And he’s 19, Gladio. It’s something else, you know it.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to think of reasons why sleeping beauty would be so mopey,” Gladio held up his hands in defense, “No need to get snappy.”

“I apologize,” Ignis murmured and turned to look at him, “I did not intend to come off as harsh towards you. I’m simply frustrated.”

“Yeah, well… we both are,” Gladio sighed heavily and shook his head, staring over at the door to Noctis’ bedroom, hoping the other wasn’t hearing them, “I know it ain’t part of our jobs, but shouldn’t Regis know about this?”

“And risk Noctis shutting us out completely?” Ignis asked, and Gladio realized that he had a good point; right now Noctis trusted them, and it seemed to be one of those things that didn’t come easily to Noctis, “I’d rather not compromise the trust we’ve built up with him these past years.”

Of course Ignis was right. He was usually right, thinking one step ahead. If they told Regis that his son was spending most of his days locked into his room, he’d surely be worried. And one thing Noctis loathed was to worry his father and cause him more stress. Regis was more than busy being the head of the family, even with Cor running a lot of things for him.

“So… how you been doing?” Gladio asked after a while, realizing the previous topic was a huge downer on both of them since they couldn’t do anything about Noctis’ state, “Haven’t seen you for a couple of days.”

“Oh, just fine,” Ignis murmured as he started looking through Noctis’ freezer, grabbing some fish that Noctis had caught on his own, “Just been looking after Noct as usual, and dealt with some paperwork.”

“Nothing exciting on your free time?”

“Not really, no,” Ignis snorted and glanced over at Gladio again, “And you? I’d be surprised if you did not have a story to tell.”

“You know me,” Gladio chuckled as he got up and moved over to the kitchen table, sitting down there so he was a bit closer to Ignis, “Found a new bar that was pretty great. You should come sometime.”

“I might be coerced to join if you buy me a drink,” Ignis said with a smirk on his face, “Perhaps.”

“Oh drinks would be on me all night,” Gladio grinned, “Trust me on that. It was a long time since we hung out after work, you know?”

“We do see each other almost every day, Gladio.”

It was true. Their shifts overlapped a lot since Noctis liked the two of them, and Regis thought that the more security, the better. Also, Noctis refused to let any other bodyguards nearly as close as them. So in case of emergency the ones watching from a distance wouldn’t be as good protection as Ignis and Gladio were. So they really did spent a lot of time together, but work hours was different from free time.

“But not outside of work,” Gladio said with a shrug, “Could be nice to go out and relax a bit, right?”

“It was a long time since I did go out…” Ignis mused as he filled a pot with water and broth, “I think it was the last time you dragged me out.”

“That’s a _year_ ago, Iggy!”

“Hm, really? Time sure does fly.”

“Jesus fucking Christ…” Gladio sighed and shook his head, not able to just keep his thoughts to himself, “You spend way too much time around Noct, Iggy. Don’t get me wrong, I also love the brat, but you’re taking it to a different level.”

Ignis just sent a mild glare towards Gladio, “Remember last time we had this conversation?”

Gladio did remember last time they had had that conversation. It was crystal clear in his mind, and it had ended with Ignis refusing to speak to him for almost _three days_. After that, Gladio had learned to simply accept the fact that Ignis was going to devote more than his work hours to look after Noctis.

Considering how things looked now, Gladio couldn’t really say that Noctis didn’t need someone to look after him, though. But he still firmly believed that Ignis was taking it too far with the coddling. The argument they'd had last time he brought it up was still fresh in his mind.

_“Damn, you gotta let him deal with this shit on his own. You’re not his mother, Ignis!”_

_“Obviously I am not his mother, she has been dead since he was one.”_

_“He has a living father, you know that he -,”_

_“You know very well that Regis is a very busy man. There is no doubt he loves Noctis with all his heart, but do you remember the last time he had time to speak to him? I believe last time was a **month** ago.”_

_“But still, it’s not your goddamned job to be his fucking babysitter!”_

_“Noctis desperately needs someone to look after him, Gladiolus, and I’d be damned if I just sit by and watch him struggle on his own when I can do **something** to make his life a bit less miserable!”_

Ignis had even slammed a hand into the table, hard, and that had been the end of that argument. And any conversation Gladio had attempted to start after that had been met with silence.

Gladio was smart enough to not take it that far again. He obviously couldn’t control Ignis life, and the guy had made up his mind and wouldn’t listen to anything negative Gladio had to say about it.

The last thing Gladio wanted was to receive the silent treatment again. The fact that they couldn't avoid each other due to work had made it even more torturous. In the end it had been Noctis who had gotten them to talk again, by questioning their weird behavior around each other.

“I’m making soup,” Ignis commented after a while as he started to prepare the fish, “Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” Gladio shrugged, if Ignis was cooking it was stupid to pass up on it, “Just grabbed a light lunch earlier.”

“Then I’ll make enough for the two of us… and some for Noctis.”

“Good luck getting him to eat it.”

“Well,” Ignis shrugged, “I can leave some in the fridge.”

“Or we could grab a funnel and just pour it down his throat. I’ll hold him, you pour. He won't stand a chance.”

It made Ignis let out a laugh as he shook his head and kept preparing the soup, but he didn’t comment.

But just hearing him laugh was enough for Gladio. It really was one of the best things in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I'll gladly accept feedback or comments of any kind (as long as it's civil, there's a difference between constructive criticism and being an asshat).  
> I won't make any promises about how frequently I'll update, but I'll try to have chapter 2 up sometime this week as well!
> 
> (Also huge shout-out to my wonderful girlfriend for beta-reading for me!)


	2. The meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I am with chapter 2!  
> Thanks for the kudos and the nice comments on previous chapter, I'm glad there are people who are interested and want to read more of it :D  
> I'm not gonna keep you... enjoy!

To say that Noctis hadn’t had the best of days would have been an understatement, but it was pretty much how most of his days had felt the last couple of months. The only reason he'd even left his apartment was because Ignis had been concerned over the fact that Noctis had stayed home for two days, claiming to not feel good. When Ignis had started talking about taking Noctis to the doctor, he had finally given in and dragged himself to school.

University had been a drag, the lecture had been about ethics and business law, but he could hardly recall anything from it. The teacher’s voice had just gone in one side of his head and out of the other, and that was why Noctis had decided to ditch around lunch, even if he had two other lectures to attend.

He had hardly slept during the night and he felt incredibly tired and anxious, as well as watched. Of course he knew it was impossible to not be under the eyes of bodyguards, but when he felt like this all he wanted was to be completely alone and not think about anything or anyone. At least the heavy rain smattering against his umbrella drowned out some of his thoughts, and the Regalia did keep its distance.

He guessed it was Ignis or Gladio in it, and even if they tried to respect Noctis’ privacy, he could always feel them constantly looking at him, making sure everything was fine. Noctis _almost_ wanted to turn and head the other direction to try and shake the car off, but he didn’t. He did however decide to take another road home, figuring he could go for something hot to drink. On a rainy day Ebony’s usually wasn’t crowded, and sitting down in a corner of the coffee shop usually made him feel a bit less trapped than he felt in his own apartment.

Noctis managed to get just a couple of buildings away from the coffee shop before his walk was abruptly cut short by something ramming right into him, knocking him off balance, and before he could stabilize himself he fell to the ground, landing on his umbrella.

The snapping sound the umbrella made indicated that it had broken, and Noctis was also pretty sure that his books had scattered on the ground, no doubt soaking them. And for a while he simply lay there on his back thinking that maybe, if he was lucky, Ramuh would send down a bolt of lightning to end his miserable existence and finally put him out of his misery. But his prayers weren’t answered. He wasn’t lucky like that.

“Holy crap, I am so sorry!” a voice suddenly exclaimed above him.

As Noctis opened up his eyes and looked up he was being stared down by a blond, blue eyed stranger with a very freckly and concerned looking face. For a while Noctis only stared, not sure what to say.

“You okay, man?”

“Uh, yeah…” Noctis murmured and blinked, rain getting into his eyes, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure about that?” the stranger asked and offered his hand to Noctis, helping him get up on his feet, “I should really have paid more attention to where I was going, instead I was looking down at my camera so I didn’t see you… Oh shit, your books! Let me get those for you!”

Noctis didn’t even have the time to say anything before the young man was down on the ground, picking up Noctis’ books before they could get too wet. He even managed to pull out a plastic bag from a pocket and put the books in it for protection from the rain, handing them over to Noctis.

“There!” he said with a grin on his face as Noctis accepted the bag, but the smile fell as he noticed Noctis’ broken umbrella, “Damn, I didn’t notice that, uh…”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Noctis said and smiled tiredly, “I swear. Thanks for helping me up.”

“Let me make it up to you somehow! Seriously, this was my fault!”

“It’s cool, I just want to go grab something hot to drink and get out of the rain.”

“Oh, you also going to Ebony’s? At least let me buy you something there!” the guy insisted, “Like, I can buy you whatever you want and then leave you alone if you want to, but at least let me pay for it!”

“Well…” Noctis trailed off, “I guess? I mean, if you insist.”

“Great!” the guy said, and the grin was once more back on his face.

Despite the weather being really dreary, Noctis couldn’t help thinking that the stranger’s smile brightened the atmosphere a bit, even if Noctis was getting soaked by the rain. The stranger seemed to notice that and quickly stepped a bit closer, inviting Noctis in underneath his umbrella.

“The name’s Prompto, by the way!” he said as they started walking towards Ebony’s again, “So you don’t have to think of me as just any random creepy stranger!”

“Ah, so I have a name on the creepy stranger then. Makes things easier if I want to report you for harassment,” Noctis said with a slight smile on his face, earning a snort from Prompto, “I’m Noctis. Nice to meet you.”

“Sure about it being nice? I totally knocked you off of your feet!”

Noctis didn’t answer right away since they entered the coffee shop. He entered first, letting Prompto retract the umbrella before he headed up to the counter with a grin on his face.

“Hey, Takka!” Prompto said, obviously knowing the man behind the counter, “Hit me up with a hot chocolate and one… uh… what do you want?”

“Uh, I’m not sure...” Noctis said after looking at the menu for a while, “You know what? I’ll take hot chocolate, too.”

Part of him had thought about getting coffee, after all that was what Ebony was famous for. And Ignis wouldn’t shut up about their coffee, he was obviously addicted to it. But truth to be told Noctis didn’t even like coffee. When he did drink it, it was mostly to try and appear more mature. Something that fell flat the moment he’d move over all his greens onto Ignis’ plate. But if Prompto ordered hot chocolate, then Noctis also felt quite comfortable ordering it, feeling as if he wouldn’t be judged for it.

“Two hot chocolates, alright,” Takka nodded as he got to work, “I’ll take it to your table once it’s done.”

“Thanks, you’re the man!” Prompto made some finger guns Takka’s way as he walked backwards into the seating area and plopped down into a booth, looking over at Noctis as if he was waiting for him to make up his mind.

Noctis knew that Prompto would be okay with him just sitting down on his own, but at the same time he had been nice enough to help him up from the ground and to insist on paying for his order to make up for the broken umbrella. And even if Noctis didn’t like admitting it, Prompto did seem to be the kind of person who radiated a certain kind of energy and warmth. Which Noctis craved, even if part of him wanted nothing more than to curl up in his room and pull the curtains together.

In the end he headed towards Prompto, sitting down in front of him.

“You don’t have to feel obligated to sit down with me, you know,” Prompto chuckled as he put his camera on the table, “But I appreciate it. Always fun with some company.”

“Well,” Noctis began, not sure how to continue, “You were really helpful.”

“Hey, how could I not be? I must have really messed up your day!”

That made Noctis actually laugh, and he shook his head.

“My day was already ruined, it’s cool,” Noctis assured Prompto, “Also, it wasn’t only your fault. I didn’t even see you, I… I was totally caught in my own thoughts.”

“That kinda day, huh?” Prompto asked and smiled, but it looked a bit sad.

It was weird. Noctis didn’t know this person, and Prompto didn’t know Noctis, yet those three (or four) words implied so much. As if he could see on Noctis that his day was a really shitty day, and he wasn’t just saying it to make small talk. The expression on his face, and the tone of his voice suggested that he understood and wasn’t just saying it to have something to say.

As if he had seen right through Noctis.

“Yeah…” Noctis trailed off, waiting with speaking again until Takka had put down their drinks on the tables and headed back, “That kinda day. But guess… your insistence on helping made it a bit better. Even if you knocked me over and I for a moment wished to be struck by lightning.”

“Today seems like the kinda day Ramuh would do such a thing, huh?” Prompto chuckled, “I should still have looked. Man, I shouldn’t even check my camera out in the rain if I wanna keep it safe.”

“You’re a photographer?” Noctis asked as he grabbed his cup with both of his hands, enjoying the warmth for a while before he took a sip of it.

“Yeah!” Prompto exclaimed, glancing down at his camera, “Or well… I mean, _amateur_ photographer. I’m not working as one yet but I’ve had some photos published in newspapers and stuff, but not like a real full time job. I’m taking some classes at the university nearby to flesh out my resume and get even better!”

“That’s pretty cool,” Noctis commented, “I… uh, I also take some courses at the university.”

“You do? What are you taking?” Prompto asked, looking genuinely interested and kind of excited over the prospect of getting to know someone else who shared the same school, “I mean, if you don’t mind telling. I’m not gonna stalk you, promise!”

“I’m taking some business courses…” Noctis muttered, “My dad… he runs a company. So I’m taking some in case he needs help. I just finished a lecture on business law and ethics.”

“That sounds… uhm, interesting…?”

“Really freaking boring,” Noctis continued and smiled as he met Prompto’s gaze, it was obviously what the other had been thinking but had tried to avoid saying out of respect, “It’s okay. You can say it. I think so, too. I actually had one more lecture later, but I skipped.”

“Too boring, huh?”

Noctis shrugged and glanced out the window. He could see that the Regalia had caught up and was parked just a bit further down the street. It made him feel a bit grim again, but he tried to shake it off. It was just Ignis, or Gladio, doing their job. He couldn’t get angry at them for constantly being around him.

“I guess,” he murmured, “That and it just being a shitty day in general.”

“Some days just are shitty,” Prompto said with a shrug and glanced out as well, “Doesn’t help that it’s pouring today! It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to stay inside and watch shitty movies and eat junk food!”

Noctis chuckled as he turned back to Prompto and drank some more of his hot chocolate.

“Yeah. It really is, huh?”

“So, what do you do other than study business and uh, ethics?”

“Not much, really,” Noctis admitted, “I’m… I’m an indoors kinda person, I guess. I like games. But when I do go out I usually fish.”

“You fish?”

“Yeah, it’s a hobby of mine. Good way to enjoy nature, relax and get food.”

“Well, I’m not really into fishing but I like nature, there are so many photo ops out there!” Prompto happily exclaimed, “And I also like games! What are you into?”

After that the conversations seemed to run a lot smoother, it definitely helped that Prompto was talking more than Noctis, leading the conversation forward. It especially picked up when they realized they both were really into King’s Knight. That made Noctis participate in the conversation almost as much as Prompto.

It didn’t take long before both of them had finished their hot chocolate, and Prompto had insisted on ordering in more, and Noctis hadn’t really complained since the rain had left him quite chilled. But once that also was over, the two of them headed out. They had been talking for almost one or two hours, after all.

“Hey, uh…” Prompto hesitated for a while as he looked over at Noctis, “Don’t hesitate to say hi if you see me around campus, you’re actually quite a chill dude! Had fun, even if I knocked you over.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open,” Noctis smiled, “Same. I… uh…”

He bit his lip before looking down at his phone. They had talked a lot, yet he felt weird asking if he could have Prompto’s number. But they had discovered that they had several things in common, and Prompto was also the first person who had managed to turn such a shitty day into an okay day for Noctis. Overlooking Ignis, but that didn’t really count.

God, he was useless at making friends. The ones he had hardly counted since they were his bodyguards, and they'd had no choice but to get to know Noctis. This was different, this was a person Noctis had met on his own, someone who wasn’t a part of the yakuza. And it was a person he actually wanted to talk to again.

“Oh, right! We can exchange numbers!” Prompto excitedly said when he noticed that Noctis was looking down at his phone, “If I give you my number send me a text so I can add yours?”

“Y-yeah, go ahead.”

Prompto first rambled it up way too fast, but Noctis’ blank stare said it all so he got a bit flustered and repeated it more slowly.

“There… I sent you a text.”

Prompto grinned and grabbed his phone, it vibrated the moment he looked down at it.

“Got it!”

“So, guess we might see each other around,” Noctis said, “Or, you know, text.”

“Yup!” Prompto said as Noctis was about step back, “Sure you’re fine without an umbrella? I could walk you?”

Noctis nodded, not pointing out that there was a ride for him whenever he wanted to.

“Yeah,” he assured, “It’s not too cold outside. Not too much of a walk, either. It’s cool.”

“Okay, if you insist. Have a good day!”

And with that Prompto was off, heading the opposite direction from where Noctis was heading. For a while he just stood there, looking at Prompto’s back, having a hard time believing that he actually had made a friend on such a shitty day. But as he started feeling the rain seep through even his second shirt he shuddered and turned around, quickly walking towards his apartment.

Of course he knew he could just stand by the street and signal for Ignis (or was it Gladio in the car? It was hard to tell in the rain) to come and pick him up. But he was still feeling anxious, and the car made him feel trapped. Everything seemed to make him feel trapped lately.

So Noctis walked through the rain the entire way to his apartment, soaked all the way through to his underwear once he finally stepped into the building. As he fumbled for his keycard he realized a pool of water was forming around his feet. The moment he got into the hallways he shed all of his clothes on the floor, not bothering to pick them up.

After drying himself and getting into dry clothes he sat down on the couch, wrapped in layers of blankets. The rain had left him quite cold.

Only a couple of minutes later there was a knock on his door, and Noctis immediately knew it was Ignis since he knocked a certain way.

“Come in!” he called and shortly after that the door was opened up.

Noctis could hear Ignis sigh from the hallway, obviously having seen the wet clothes discarded on the floor.

“Noct?” Ignis said as he appeared a couple of minutes later, probably having put the wet clothes in the dryer.

“Yeah?” Noctis murmured from his pile of blankets on the couch, looking over at Ignis.

“I simply wondered if you were alright…” Ignis said as he sat down in the other end of the couch, “You walked quite a long way in the rain. I could have driven you.”

“I wanted to walk.”

“That’s fine,” Ignis said with a nod, “Do you want something hot to eat?”

“You don’t have to, you’re not my housekeeper,” Noctis sighed but Ignis was already getting up and heading towards the open kitchen, “Ignis…”

“I insist.”

Noctis sighed as he looked at Ignis back. Of course he insisted, he always did. But Noctis appreciated him a lot for that. Without Ignis, Noctis would have lived the unhealthiest lifestyle ever. Or as Ignis once had put it after he had been off-duty for a week and came back to find Noctis’ apartment filled with bags of trash and containers of fast food:

_“You’d surely perish if I weren’t around to look after you. Gods, what have you lived on? Cup noodles again?”_

And then Gladio had gotten an earful for not being there, but Noctis had stepped in and defended him, stating that it was none of their jobs to actually keep him fed and so on. It was only Ignis who was worrying so much that he had taken on those tasks, too.

“Thanks,” Noctis called after a while and took a shaky breath. He was feeling cold after the walk in the rain, “Maybe I should have taken a ride with you…”

“I am inclined to agree,” Ignis nodded and sighed, “You might catch a cold… By the way, who was the young man you walked into? You two headed to Ebony’s together, did you not?”

“Oh,” Noctis blinked, “Uh, his name is Prompto. Never met the guy before, but he felt guilty for running into me and my umbrella breaking so he insisted on buying me my drink. He was… nice.”

“So you’re finally making friends, hm?”

Noctis was about to say that he wasn’t, but then he realized that he actually had Prompto’s number on his phone. And that he actually kind of wanted to see the guy again.

“I guess? We exchanged numbers…”

“Hm.”

“Specs, please don’t start…” Noctis groaned, knowing that Ignis already was itching to make a background check on Prompto. He _always_ made background checks on people in Noctis’ life, even if they just appeared very briefly, “He looked absolutely harmless!”

“Still, he might need to get looked into,” Ignis said with a shrug as he picked out a couple of items from the fridge, “Also, we are going grocery shopping later and I’m not taking no for an answer. One would think you live in poverty judging by the contents of your fridge and cupboards, Noct.”

“You changed the subject,” Noctis muttered but didn’t comment on it any further, “And the food situation is not _that_ bad.”

“It _is_ that bad,” Ignis insisted, “I’ll be making you a stacked ham sandwich. I hope that will suffice.”

“No lettuce.”

“I’ve given up that battle a long time ago, Noct.”

“No, you haven't,” Noctis snorted as he turned in the couch to stare at Ignis, “You still try to ninja vegetables into my food, and I always find them. Don’t deny it.”

“Such rude accusations,” Ignis smirked and glanced over at Noctis, “One day you _will_ eat greens and find them tasty. Even if I have to camouflage them.”

“Keep dreaming,” Noctis rolled his eyes and turned back in the couch, turning on the TV, “Didn’t see Gladio around today.”

“I believe he was doing something else today,” Ignis stated, “I can ask him later.”

“Huh, you two gonna do something?”

“Yes,” Ignis admitted, “He asked if I wanted to head out for a drink after work. I said yes. So I won’t be staying much longer… but you know there are others around.”

Noctis shrugged. It wasn’t as if he really cared. The security was something his father had insisted on, not Noctis himself. He’d sleep well even if he didn’t have a bunch of yakuza bodyguards stationed around his home. In fact, he’d maybe sleep even better if they weren’t there.

“Just enjoy your date, Specs.”

“I assure you it’s only a drink among coworkers,” Ignis said, almost sounding a bit defensive, “Nothing more.”

“Hey, if you say so,” Noctis couldn’t help smirking to himself as he turned his attention back onto the TV. Ignis could tell himself that it was just that, but one would have to be blind if they hadn’t seen the way Gladio had been looking at Ignis the past couple of months, “Say hi and good luck to Gladio from me.”

“Good luck for what?”

“Oh, he’ll know,” Noctis dismissively said, ignoring Ignis' deep sigh coming from the other side of the room.

Maybe the day wasn’t entirely as hopeless as he had first thought it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, not sure exactly when there will be an update, but probably quite soon since i've got most of chapter 3 finished already :)
> 
> (And once more a shoutout to my girlfriend for being a great beta-reader who picks up on the stuff I totally forget about!)


	3. The "date"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chaaapter 3 incoming. Sorry for the wait, had planned on getting done sooner but life got in the way!

Ignis scoffed as he looked at himself in the mirror for maybe the fifth time. He knew he looked fine, and there wasn’t really any reason for him to keep making sure of it. He had left Noctis’ apartment about an hour earlier and had only dropped by at his own apartment to take a quick shower.

He could have left and met up with Gladio straight away. It was just a drink with a friend, after all. Like last time, when Gladio had invited some others from the family. It had been very lively, to say the least, so Ignis wondered who of them would show up.

With a sigh he took one last look at himself before he forced himself to leave his apartment and start walking. He could have taken is how car, or the Regalia, but Gladio had told him to meet up with him on a certain street that wasn’t too far away. And if they were having drinks, Ignis wouldn’t want to drive back anyways.

As Ignis arrived at the spot he wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when he saw that Gladio was already waiting for him, leaning against a wall and looking at his phone.

“Did I keep you waiting?” Ignis asked as he approached.

Gladio’s head snapped up and he grinned the moment he saw that it was Ignis, pocketing his phone, “Nah. Just got here a couple of minutes ago. And you’re also early, so…”

“So, who else are we expecting?”

“Huh?” Gladio looked a bit confused for a while but then shook his head, “No one, was just waiting for you. And since you're here, let’s get going. Did you eat anything, by the way?”

“Yes, I had dinner,” Ignis commented, “Perhaps not the most fulfilling meal of my lifetime considering the very sad state of Noct’s kitchen, but I believe it was enough to sustain the two of us for the rest of the night.”

“You know him,” Gladio snorted, “Noct isn’t really known for liking grocery shopping…”

“True,” Ignis sighed heavily and shook his head, “Especially not lately. At least he seemed to be in a better mood today. I just hope it will last.”

“Really, Noct was in a good mood?” Gladio asked with a raised eyebrow, really questioning the statement considering how moody Noctis had been, “Guess miracles _do_ happen.”

Ignis snorted and glanced over at Gladio, an amused look on his face, “He made a friend, I believe.”

“Okay… are you trying to bullshit me?”

“Oh no, I saw it with my very own eyes. A young man walked into Noct, knocking him to the ground,” Ignis explained, “Then they went to Ebony’s... After that he got back home and his mood was vastly improved. I can’t help but hope that it’s a friendship he’ll manage to cultivate. He does have few friends.”

“Yeah, the brat is really shy.”

“And introverted.”

“I’d call it socially awkward.”

“That too, I guess,” Ignis chuckled, but he couldn't help feeling a bit bad about the reasons behind that, “It is not that strange considering what kind of life he was born into, though…”

“Yeah…” Gladio sighed and nodded, things would probably have been different if Noctis hadn't been the son of a yakuza boss, “But hey. Enough talk about work for now, okay?”

“Oh, of course,” Ignis agreed as they came to a halt by a bar and Gladio grinned, “I take it this is our destination?”

“Yup!” Gladio exclaimed and held up the door, he even winked at Ignis, “You first.”

“What a gentleman,” Ignis said with a slight smirk on his face as he walked in, closely followed by Gladio.

It was a cozy place, he realized. Nothing like he was used to seeing while heading out with Gladio. Sure it was quite a long time ago since he had gone out with him, but it was usually loud bars filled with obnoxiously drunk people, and it tended to get worse the later it got.

But this place was pretty quiet in comparison. A couple of men sat by the bar, quietly discussing while having drinks, and there were several occupied booths but the place was hardly overflowing with people.

“Not what I had expected,” Ignis commented as he looked around and nodded in approval. He liked the fact that he could hear his own thoughts and that he wouldn’t have to push past a bunch of drunk people to move around, “Is it a recent find of yours?”

Gladio nodded with a proud grin on his face as he put a hand on Ignis’ back and gently pushed him towards an empty booth in the corner of the bar where they could have some privacy.

“Had a feeling you’d like it,” Gladio said as he sat down, “I know you’re not a huge fan of those other places. Too loud, right?”

“Yes,” Ignis agreed and sat down in front of Gladio, “I find it more enjoyable when I can actually hear what you are saying and not guess or ask you to repeat yourself several times. Like last time. It was impossible to hold a conversation at that place.”

Gladio laughed at that and started taking his jacket off, leaving him in his white dress shirt. He was wearing what he’d normally wear on a day of work, minus the gun holsters. But Ignis would have been highly surprised if the other didn’t have at least one weapon on himself. Ignis was also armed at all times, you couldn’t be careful enough even if they weren’t under direct threat.

After a while Ignis found himself staring. Gladio's dress shirt was quite thin, and if you looked closely you could see some of his tattoos through it. He even exposed more of it as he rolled up his sleeves, clearly not caring if people saw them. It was one of those things about Gladio. Anyone could see that he was yakuza. Then again Ignis did pull off the look quite well, too, minus the tattoos.

“You’re making yourself quite obvious,” Ignis lightly commented as he gestured to Gladio’s arms.

“It’s just tattoos,” Gladio shrugged and smirked, “And you think anyone would dare come up and ask us? I’d like to see that.”

“You _want_ someone to ask, don’t you?” Ignis asked, sounding quite amused, "I know you, Gladio."

Last time they had been out a man had approached them, clearly drunk off of his ass, and he had said something along the lines of “ _You guys yakuza or what?”_. The bar had gotten strangely quiet after that, most patrons had just stayed away from them, and now they all thought the idiot who had approached him was going to meet his end for his bold move.

Gladio had simply laughed and smirked, _“Do you want to find out? I’ve got some space in my trunk if you wanna go for a ride.”_

That had been enough to get the poor man to stutter out an apology and disappear into the mass of people. Gladio didn't necessarily go around scaring people for fun, but when they were stupid enough to search him out and ask if he was yakuza, he couldn't help but give them a bit of a scare.

“Are you one to talk? You don’t need the tattoos to be obvious,” Gladio pointed out and rolled his eyes but he looked amused, “But hey, what did I say about talking about work?”

Ignis was just about to answer when a waiter showed up at their table, looking between the two of them as if trying to decide who to address first. He ended up looking at Gladio.

“Hello, w-what can I get you?” the waiter asked, a bit of a nervous look on his face, but he relaxed a bit when Gladio put on his friendly smile.

Good thing the man could look both nice and intimidating. It made his job a lot easier, and he didn’t have to scare the crap out of some innocent waiter just trying to make a living. 

“Hm, some sake,” Gladio said and looked over at Ignis, “Or what do you say, Iggy?”

Ignis nodded, “Sounds fine to me. Warmed, please.”

“Will that be all?”

“Yeah, thanks” Gladio nodded, and the waiter soon disappeared out of view.

“So…” he began and looked at Ignis, a thoughtful look on his face, “How’s your family doing?”

 

* * *

 

Noctis sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. Several of hours had passed since Ignis had left, and Noctis hadn’t left the spot in the couch since then. His mood had started to dampen again now that he was alone with his thoughts.

Meeting Prompto had been really nice, he had to admit. Noctis wasn’t sure he ever had seen a person who radiated that nice and warm energy before. Even as the rain had poured down, Prompto had been like some kind of ray of sunlight. A ray that Noctis would have liked to stay with for a bit longer.

But he had been alright going home, even if the rain had left him cold and tired. Having dinner with Ignis hadn’t been bad, especially not when Noctis had realized that the other was going out on a date with Gladio.

To be honest he was happy that Gladio was taking the step to ask Ignis out, even if Ignis obviously didn’t seem to believe it was more than a friendly drink. For being a very observant person, Ignis could for sure be oblivious in some aspects. Or perhaps he was in denial. Noctis had started to notice Gladio’s looks about two months prior. He had been around the two of them for years, so it wasn’t _that_ hard to see that something had changed in the way Gladio looked at Ignis.

It was something about the way Gladio’s gaze lingered, and how he suddenly would get a really soft look on his face, even smiling to himself as he’d watch or listen to Ignis.

They’d probably be good for each other, too, Noctis thought. Ignis would be particularly good for Gladio, at least. Because Gladio was a stubborn idiot sometimes, and Ignis seemed to be his voice of reason when no one else could get through his thick skull.

And maybe Ignis also needed Gladio, to make Ignis stop and think of himself once in a while. Noctis was more than aware of the fact that the two of them had disagreements about him. He had heard them argue before, when they had thought that he was soundly asleep in his room. Instead he had been pressed against the door, trying to pick up on what they were saying. 

Ignis did spend a lot of time and energy at Noctis’ apartment, and he felt a bit guilty about that. Especially after hearing them bicker about it. Ignis was only his bodyguard, not his housekeeper.

Sometimes Noctis really tried to will himself to get a grip and start managing his life better. He _could_ cook simple foods, and he most definitely wasn’t incapable of taking out the trash. But even those simple tasks felt like much harder challenges most days. And he had sometimes even been on his way out when he suddenly had just turned around in the hallway and headed back inside, the thought of going out making him anxious and stressed.

So Ignis kept doing those things most of the time, even if he didn’t have to. Noctis wouldn’t have gotten angry at Ignis if he just stopped. Part of him almost wanted Ignis to do that, then he’d not feel guilty even if Ignis insisted that he didn’t have any issues helping out.

After a while Noctis sighed and turned to lie on his side, thinking about those things weren't making him any happier. He was thinking about just dragging himself back to his room and going to bed. But that felt even lonelier to him, and right now he didn't want to deal with loneliness even if he had been isolating himself a lot lately.

Maybe he was a bit jealous of Ignis and Gladio. Even if they were his friends, they were doing their jobs when they were around him. The two of them together on their free time was different. It wasn’t as if they did those kind of things with Noctis. Not that he wanted Gladio to take him out on a date, but doing something fun outside once in a while would have been nice. But he couldn’t ask more of them, they both had lives that didn't revolve around Noctis, and they absolutely deserved that. 

Just as he was about to pull his blanket over his head and hide from the world again, his phone buzzed. He sighed as he reached out for it, expecting it to be Ignis or perhaps Regis checking in on him. But instead his screen was lit up displaying a different name.

 _Prompto, 11:45PM_  
_Hey!! remember me? (Prompto, the dude who knocked you over)  
_ _Just doing some nightly leveling in king’s knight… wanna play? :D_

Noctis stared blankly at the screen for a while, not sure what to do or say. But he soon found himself smiling. Good thing that Prompto had taken the first step, because Noctis wasn’t sure if he would have dared to text him first. Especially not on the very same day they had met.

It seemed to really be the beginning of an actual friendship. At least he hoped so.

 

* * *

 

Asking about family had been one of few things Gladio could think of that didn’t involve work. Of course it backfired a bit, because Ignis’ uncle was part of the family, and Gladio’s own dad was Regis’ bodyguard, but it at least didn’t have to be about work itself.

Even if Gladio wanted to hear more about Ignis, it was Gladio who ended up talking the most, bringing up the problems he had to deal with at home. Problems that involved Iris and her wanting to go on a date with a boy, but Gladio downright refusing to let her, which in turn had resulted in a huge spat between the siblings. Something that Gladio had described in great detail to Ignis, trying to make him agree with his reasoning. 

Of course Ignis had been reasonable in giving suggestions on how to deal with the situation. Gladio had been kind of unreasonable to his sister, he could admit that even if he at first had tried to deny it when Ignis asked what he even had said to Iris about the subject. But one pointed look had been enough him to know that Ignis had been right. Maybe he was being overprotective of her, too. But he really just wanted what was best for her, and Gladio did not want some brat to go and break his sister's heart. 

He wasn’t sure how long time had passed, but the bottle of sake they had ordered when they arrived was empty, and they had started on a new one just a while ago.

Gladio groaned and rubbed his eyes,trying to take in all of Ignis advice regarding Iris. He was not having an easy time.

“How come you are so good at this shit? You don’t have any teenage sisters, do you?”

Ignis snorted as he looked at Gladio. To see him that riled up over the simple fact that his sister wanted to go out on a date was quite amusing to him, but he did feel a bit bad for Iris. It couldn’t always be easy having Gladio as your older brother. But he also understood Gladio’s concern. She was only 14, after all, and to Gladio she was just his baby sister. He didn't like thinking of the fact that she slowly but surely was growing up.

“I am an only child,” Ignis shrugged, “But I know you, and from what I’ve gathered from your stories… your sister is quite like you in many regards. You both seem to be stubborn. Just… be patient with her, and _calm_. Yelling will not solve anything. Also, what does Clarus think?”

Gladio shrugged and grabbed his cup, swallowing what remained.

“Who knows? He’s not been home a lot lately,” Gladio muttered, he sounded bitter, “I see more of Iris than he does.”

“Ah,” Ignis murmured, “I take it’s because of Regis?”

“Yeah,” Gladio sighed and leaned back, looking a bit grim as they headed back into work talk, “Not sure what’s going on but I think there’s been some conflict with another family. Nothing big has happened yet, but Cor seemed to think it would be a good idea to up Regis’ security. So Dad has been staying at the estate close to Regis, in case something happens.”

“Hm…” Ignis murmured, “You think it could affect Noct?”

“Nah,” Gladio shrugged, “Think we would know if that was the case. Right?”

Ignis frowned and Gladio just sighed as he looked at him and decided to pour him more sake even if Ignis mildly protested. But he had already started pouring, so Ignis soon gave up and simply accepted the sake as Gladio started pouring more for himself as well. 

“You are thinking too much,” Gladio commented as he grabbed his cup and looked at Ignis, “Right now, I can tell you’re thinking about Noct and you are worrying.” 

“Isn’t it part of my job?” Ignis stiffly asked as he crossed his arms, “We are his bodyguards, Gladio.”

“Yeah, but you are spending more than your shifts with him,” Gladio said after a while, trying to remain respectful and not repeat their previous arguments, “I get that you care a lot about Noct, but do I even wanna know how much more than your work hours you spend there?”

“Well,” Ignis took his cup and sipped on the sake briefly before answering, “You probably don’t.”

“Iggy…”

“Gladio, I know that we have very different views on… well, _caring_ for Noctis,” Ignis sighed as he restlessly spun the cup around in his hands, “But I am there for more than work reasons. I am there as a friend, too, and I think Noctis needs that. You’ve seen how he’s been lately.”

Gladio nodded as he stared down into his own cup of sake, for once thinking carefully about what to say since he didn’t want to cause a scene and end up making Ignis pissed off. He had taken Ignis out to relax and have a good time, try to get to know him more outside of work. Not to fight about Noctis.

“Yeah, can’t deny that.”

“I understand that it is not part of our job to cook for him or to clean up after him, but those are things I want to do. He’s obviously struggling with something much bigger at present time,” Ignis murmured, “I cannot do anything about that. I have even tried talking to him but he insists he’s fine, even if today was the first time in _days_ that he left his apartment to go to school. That is not the definition of fine according to me.”

“True,” Gladio gloomily agreed again, “But at least he seemed a bit better today, right? Maybe he’s getting better again.”

“One can only hope it lasts,” Ignis tiredly said and put down the cup so he could adjust his glasses a bit, “Speaking of Noct… I told him we were heading out. He asked me to greet you and also to wish you good luck.”

Gladio had to quickly swallow the sake in his mouth to not spit it out, and even then he almost got it down the wrong pipe, ending up coughing and turning his head away until he had that under control.

“F-for what?”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Ignis said with a raised eyebrow, suspiciously eyeing Gladio, “He just smirked and said that you’d know what he meant. Are you okay?”

Gladio’s eyes widened, not even answering Ignis’ question because he was busy trying to process the rest of what Ignis had said.

So Noctis _knew_ about his crush on Ignis. Was Gladio being _that_ obvious? Then again the entire goal of taking Ignis out was to see if things possibly would go somewhere. He’d been thinking about it the past couple of months, and had even stopped hooking up once he realized that all he thought about was Ignis. Casual sex didn’t feel as good any longer, and part of him would feel as if he was cheating even if they weren’t together or anything like that. Still, it did not feel right to him.

What pained him was that Ignis seemed to be quite blind to his advances so far. Perhaps Gladio should have explicitly asked him out on a _date_ and not just out for a drink. Ignis had seemed to have expected them to have drinks with more people from the family since he had been surprised to meet Gladio alone.

“Gladio? Should I ask for some water? Do you -,”

“Nah,” Gladio snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, “It’s all good.”

“So… you do not know what Noctis implied?”

“Nope,” Gladio said, denying it as he shook his head, “No idea what the brat was thinking of. Gotta ask him about that later…”

Ignis eyed him for a while, and Gladio was pretty sure that Ignis didn’t believe him. But in the end he shrugged, deciding not to ask any further.

“If you say so.”

“Yeah…” Gladio grabbed his cup again and downed the last of the sake in one go, not hesitating before filling it up again with the last of the sake in the bottle. He needed that drink. 

“It appears to have been a good idea that we walked,” Ignis commented as he squinted and looked down at his wristwatch. There was nothing wrong with his sight but the alcohol had definitely settled in so it took a while for him to focus properly, “It’s getting late…”

Gladio hummed quietly in agreement.

“It’s been a good time," Ignis continued after a while, "But after this drink it's perhaps time to take our leave?”

Gladio didn’t really want the night to come to an end. He was glad that he had gotten to spend time with Ignis, but he was also unhappy with himself for not being able to try and bring the issue of their “relationship” up. The issue being that Gladio had more than friendly feelings towards Ignis, but it was really damned hard when Ignis seemed to just think of them as nothing more than friends. 

It had even stung a bit when Ignis at one point had asked him if he had seen anyone lately, and he had begrudgingly asked the same question, and felt relief upon hearing that Ignis hadn’t.

But Ignis was right. It was getting late, and the two of them had to get up and keep an eye on Noctis the next day. Ignis’ was supposed to start later than Gladio, but Gladio had a feeling that Ignis would be at Noctis’ apartment first thing in the morning anyways. It was standard.

“Yeah,” Gladio sighed, “Maybe should have taken you out a day when we didn’t have to get up at the asscrack of dawn for work, huh?”

Ignis smiled wryly as he sipped on the remaining sake in his cup, “I think I can handle it.”

They finished the rest of the sake in silence, and as they headed over to the bar to pay Gladio simply shook his head at Ignis who had been about to grab his wallet to pay up since it hadn’t been cheap sake.

“I did say drinks on me,” Gladio said as he handed over money to the person by the register, “Keep the change.”

Ignis couldn’t do much more than sigh and accept it. Soon Gladio was putting his jacket on again and heading towards the exit. Ignis was feeling quite warm from the alcohol and simply threw his jacket over his shoulder before heading out after Gladio.

“So…” Gladio trailed off as he stopped and turned towards Ignis shortly after they had exited the bar, obviously they both had miscalculated the other’s movements because they nearly bumped into each other, so little space between them that Gladio could feel Ignis’ breath against his skin, “Oh shit, sorry -,”

“No, no,” Ignis said but he didn’t step away, instead he just swayed lightly to the side and put a hand on Gladio’s arm, the alcohol had clearly affected him a bit more than he had anticipated, “It’s… nothing.”

For a while they just stared into each other’s eyes and Gladio could swear he was about to have a heart attack soon. As his gaze searched Ignis’ face and he looked at his lips, Gladio got an incredibly strong urge to kiss the other man. Ignis was so damned pretty. Beautiful, even. And Gladio would have lied if he said that he hadn’t thought about this before. And this was the closest he had been to Ignis before.

For a moment it seemed they were about to kiss, both of them absolutely tantalized by each other, but at the last moment Ignis seemed to clear his head as he released his grip on Gladio’s arm and took a step backwards to create some space between them.

“Late night,” he murmured and pulled a hand through his hair, not appearing to care that he was messing it up a bit, “Thanks for the drinks, Gladio… next time it’s on me. I had a good time.”

“Yeah,” Gladio said, trying to hide his disappointment with a smile, “Me too.”

“So… see you at work tomorrow?”

“Yup,” Gladio nodded and sighed, “Bright and early.”

Ignis grimaced at that, even him not liking the prospect of having to get up early after a late night of drinking.

“Get home safe, then.”

“Think someone would dare jump me?” Gladio asked with a slight laugh, “You get home safe too, Iggy.”

With that Ignis returned the smile before he turned around, his jacket thrown over his shoulders as he walked down the street, a slight sway to his walk.

Gladio couldn’t help staring at Ignis’ as he walked down the street. His eyes moved towards Ignis' back and then down to his hips. Gods, how Gladio wanted to hold on to those hips and make Ignis part those pretty lips and scream his name. Or even better, see them wrapped around his cock. The thought made his pants feel uncomfortably tight, and he was definitely not in the mood for a one-night stand. He hadn't slept with anyone ever since he had realized just how big of a crush he had on Ignis. Gladio had tried, at one point, but it hadn't really worked. He just wanted Ignis, and no one else.

“Get a grip,” Gladio said to himself through gritted teeth and forced himself to turn away from Ignis.

At least Ignis had said that it’d be on him next time. Implying it’d happen again. And just _maybe_ Gladio would actually be able to properly ask Ignis out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, a huge shout-out to my girlfriend (again), who beta read this even though she's sick.  
> And secondly, shout-out to all of you who've been leaving kudos and comments! I'm really glad you guys seem to like the story, and I hope I won't disappoint in upcoming chapters :D I'll soon start bringing on the angst properly, haha...


	4. The moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise? I didn't expect to finish this chapter so fast but I got really into writing so here you go :)

After Prompto’s first text message to Noctis, things got a bit easier. They had exchanged accounts on King’s Knight, and they might have played together for _hours_ that night. Noctis had eventually fallen asleep on the couch with his phone in his hand, and the next day pretty much the same thing had happened.

It had quickly become a routine for him. He’d get up, go to university (most days, at least), go home and then either he or Prompto would ask if the other wanted to play. Eventually they had moved on to voice chatting at the same time, and Noctis loved listening to Prompto curse loudly when things weren’t going well. Or hearing him shout in victory when they did well, even if he swore his hearing was going to get damaged by the constant loud outbursts.

From there on it progressed into actually meeting up again, and before Noctis knew it, it was standard for him to go to Prompto’s very small apartment after school. It was basically just one room and a bathroom. The main room contained Prompto’s bed as well as a couch and a small kitchen. Noctis was pretty sure that his bedroom almost was bigger than Prompto’s entire apartment, but he liked it there. It felt homely and lived in despite its small size.

Prompto was a bit messy, but at least tons more organized than Noctis was. There were a lot of photos on his walls, along with some posters from various movies, games and some animated shows that Noctis hadn’t seen (but Prompto was slowly but surely making sure that Noctis watched all of his favorites).

What really impressed Noctis was the fact that Prompto had managed to make a makeshift darkroom in one of his closets, even if he mostly took digital photos he claimed that it was fun seeing the pictures come to life when you developed your own photos. And Noctis had to admit that it was fun. He had helped Prompto a couple of times, but after he had destroyed some film once he tended to leave most of it to Prompto.

“How long has it been?”

Noctis looked up at Prompto in slight confusion. They were both on Prompto’s bed, Noctis lying on his back with his legs dangling over the side, and Prompto sitting cross legged next to him.

“Uh, I don’t know? Six hours? Seven?”

“No, not that,” Prompto laughed and playfully ruffled Noctis’ hair despite the sounds of protests he got out of him, “I mean, how long have we known each other now?”

“Oh, that,” Noctis said, flushing a bit as he tried to fix his hair again, but it was a lost battle without a mirror, “Shit, I don’t know? Since November?”

Prompto whistled, “So it’s been three months already, huh?”

“I guess?”

“You were so awkward back then,” Prompto teased which only earned him a shove from Noctis, “What? It’s true!”

“Why did you even want to hang out with me then?” Noctis huffed as he pushed himself up to sit as well, “I mean, I can’t have made a good first impression?”

Prompto didn’t say anything as he looked at Noctis, a more serious look settling over his face. He was obviously thinking about what to say next, and Noctis was patiently waiting, starting to feel a bit insecure under Prompto’s gaze. It was hard to maintain eye contact when it felt as if Prompto was trying to stare into the depths of his soul.

“Sure, you weren’t a bundle of joy…” Prompto began after a while, “But… I don’t know, it felt as if you were a good person just having a really bad time? And then I totally knocked you over, and you looked so sad and I… I guess I wanted to make you less sad.”

“Even if you didn’t know me?”

“Yeah,” Prompto scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, “Must sound really weird, huh?”

“Well, you _are_ a weirdo so it’s to be expected,” Noctis seriously said but grinned as Prompto tried to elbow him in the side, “Ow! Watch the ribs! Okay, I’m sorry!”

“Man, here I’m trying to be real and you just have to go and do that,” Prompto chuckled and then smiled as he nudged Noctis with his elbow one final time, “But really. I’m glad you let me get close to you. You’re like… my best friend. Uh, I mean, if that’s not too -,”

“You’re my best friend, too,” Noctis softly said and looked down at his phone, “Not that I have a lot of other friends, but… you know.”

Prompto grinned widely and slung an arm around Noctis’ shoulders, pulling him in for a tight one-armed embrace and rubbed his face against Noctis who made a surprised noise as he struggled to get away.

“Aw hell yeah! BFFs until the end of time!”

“On second thought…” Noctis groaned, his face still squished against Prompto’s, “Friendship over.”

“That’s _cold_!”

“You’re messing up my hair even more,” Noctis complained but he couldn’t help smiling, “Do you know how much time it takes to make it look like this?”

“What, you actually spend _time_ on that?” Prompto asked with a raised eyebrow and released Noctis to take a good look at him, “Looks like you just totally rolled out of bed and added some hairspray to keep the look.”

“Hey!”

“Just telling you the truth, man. That’s what best friends do!”

“Well, know what? Yours look like a chocobo’s butt,” Noctis huffed and stuck out his tongue at Prompto, not caring how immature it made him look.

And Prompto’s offended expression was the best. Noctis almost wished he had taken a photo of it but it was soon gone as Prompto started defending himself.

“My hair does _not_ look like a chocobo’s butt! How _dare_ you?!”

“I thought you loved chocobos,” Noctis innocently said, “Shouldn’t you take that as a compliment?”

“Just because I like them it doesn’t mean I want to be compared to their asses!” Prompto complained as he pushed himself off of the bed and crossed his arms. He was pouting, and it was adorable, “And you’re not one to talk, Noct. Your hair looks more like a chocobo butt than mine does, you hypocrite!”

Noctis smirked and rolled his eyes as Prompto turned and headed towards the window to look out.

The weather was nice, but the sun was starting to set. Prompto couldn’t help frowning as his eyes landed on a car further down the street. He had seen it several times lately. Actually only when Noctis was around, so the owner couldn’t really live around Prompto. He had even tried to spot it when Noctis wasn’t around, but to no avail.

“Hey… Noct?”

“Hm?”

“So… even if we haven’t known each other that long… you know you can trust me, right?”

Noctis frowned as he looked at the back of Prompto’s head, “Uh… yeah? Where did that come from?”

“I was just…” Prompto trailed off and laughed awkwardly, “So, I’m probably being paranoid. Or it might be a coincidence…”

Noctis pushed himself off of the bed as well and approached, but he stopped a couple of steps behind Prompto, not sure what to say or do.

“It’s just that I keep seeing this one car? Like, I thought it was a coincidence or that it was someone living here… but it’s literally only around when I’m with you?” Prompto turned to look at Noctis and waved his hand to make Noctis come stand next to him, “See? That one.”

Noctis swallowed nervously as he saw the car. It was the Regalia, of course. He had tried to keep that part hidden, but it wasn’t exactly easy. And he couldn’t tell them to go away, they were only doing their jobs.

“But yeah, maybe I’m overthinking it, sorry, I shouldn’t have -,”

“It’s for me,” Noctis quickly said and exhaled loudly, “You’re not imagining things. That car… it’s keeping watch. For me.”

Prompto raised an eyebrow as he looked at Noctis, “You’re being… followed?”

“Not sure if I’d call it that… but yeah, essentially…” Noctis bitterly said and turned away from the window and headed back to Prompto’s bed. He picked up Prompto’s camera and started it, looking at the pictures Prompto had taken earlier. He couldn’t really look at Prompto right now, “It’s for protection.”

Prompto slowly approached the bed and sat down to Noctis, observing as he browsed through the photos. It was a friendship privilege that Noctis had earned just about a month ago when Prompto realized that Noctis smiled a lot when he showed his photos. So he could bear with Noctis looking at them, including some awkward selfies. 

“So… you’re in trouble?”

Noctis shook his head and took a deep breath, glancing over very briefly at Prompto, but that brief moment was enough for Prompto to tell that Noctis was afraid of something.

“Noct… come on, BFFs, remember?”

“Yeah… BFFs…” Noctis repeated and bit his lip, looking down at the camera again. It was a picture of him and Prompto, taken just a week earlier when they had gone to an arcade together. It had been Noctis' first time going to an arcade, and they had had a blast, “It’s just… my family… it’s… Okay, I just want you to know that I understand if you don’t want to hang out with me after this but… my Dad is yakuza.”

“Excuse me?”

“My dad is part of a yakuza family,” Noctis repeated, his face heating up. Not out of embarrassment, but he was feeling stressed and anxious again, afraid of how Prompto would react, “I’m sorry I never said anything, I just… I want to be normal. Just a normal guy hanging out with his normal friend doing normal stuff…”

He let out a tired laugh as he turned off Prompto’s camera and put it aside. Now he just stared down at his own hands.

“They’re _always_ around me. Day and night.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Holy fucking shit.”

Noctis closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I guess… you want me to leave?”

“What? No! Hell no!” Prompto exclaimed and put a hand on Noctis’ shoulder, squeezing it tightly, “You really think that’s gonna scare me away? Shit, I just… I never expected that. It’s like… I’ve just seen yakuza in movies, pretty much.”

“You’re okay with it?” Noctis asked in surprise, “Honestly okay?”

“Duh?” Prompto shrugged and smiled reassuringly at Noctis, “I just did say BFFs until the end of time, right?”

“Okay,” Noctis said and smiled, feeling relief, “Thanks.”

“No need to thank me, just doing what’s right!” Prompto happily said but soon his eyes widened, as if he just had realized something, “Oh shit, this is why you never wanted to go to your place? You got like… your yakuza bodyguards there, don’t you?”

“Yeah…” Noctis sighed and let himself fall back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, “Now that the jig is up I guess you could come to my place? Two of my bodyguards usually hang around my apartment when I’m there, but I guess I can send them out. Or we could hang out in my room.”

“So you’ve got more than two bodyguards?”

“Yeah… my dad’s kinda overprotective,” Noctis murmured, “He’s afraid I’ll be targeted because of him.”

“Dude, what’s your full name?”

“U-uh,” Noctis swallowed nervously, desperately thinking of what to do or say, “Noctis Amicitia.”

The moment he had said it, he kind of regretted it. But he couldn’t exactly change his mind after that without making it obvious that he was lying. It wasn’t as if people just randomly forgot their names.

Prompto got a thoughtful look on his face and then shrugged, probably not recognizing the last name.

If Noctis had said Lucis Caelum, Prompto would immediately have known just how big of a deal the entire yakuza deal was, and Noctis just thought it was better that Prompto didn’t know that. Not for now, at least. Just sharing the yakuza part had been hard enough. Saying that he was the son of the _boss_ of the biggest yakuza family in the country wasn’t something he was ready to share. But he really wished he had come up with literally any name but Amicitia. Not that Gladio would find out about it, but if he did he’d be so smug.

“Well… think I could see where you live sometime soon?”

Noctis nodded, “Uh, sure? Maybe in a couple of days? I guess I just need to let them know that I’ll be bringing a guest. Also, don’t let them scare you. Ignis is super polite, and even if Gladio looks intimidating he’s pretty cool, even if he can be a jerk.”

“Intimidating how?”

“He’s an almost two meter tall wall of muscle,” Noctis sighed, “Like, he could break you with his bare hands.”

“Wow Noct, you calling me scrawny now? First my hair, now this?”

“He could break _me_ with his hands, too,” Noctis snorted and rolled his eyes, “If he wasn’t paid to keep me safe he might have tried to do that already.”

“So... your wall of muscle bodyguard doesn’t like you?”

“No, I mean yeah, he does… I think?” Noctis sounded a bit uncertain, “I think of them as my friends. I don’t let any of the other guards into my apartment. Only Ignis and Gladio… I trust them, and they’ve been keeping watch over me for several years… they… they are my friends.”

“But not your best friends?” Prompto asked, "You've known them way longer than me."

“Nah,” Noctis said and chuckled as he looked over at Prompto again, “I meant it when I said that you’re my best friend. And it’s… like… every time I hang with them I know they’re there doing their job. It’s different, you know?”

Prompto smiled back and nodded, “Yeah… I guess I get that.”

Noctis hummed and closed his eyes. Having the conversation about the yakuza had been stressful, and now that it was more or less out of the way he felt exhausted and could easily have drifted to sleep. If it wasn’t for the fact that Prompto started poking his cheek.

“Noooct…”

“What?”

“You’re gonna sleep? _Again_? You've taken like three naps while being here!”

“It’s getting late,” Noctis commented, “Maybe I should go home and sleep for real.”

Prompto snorted and stared at Noctis as if he didn’t believe a word he said. And he had all right to do so. Noctis tended to stay up late at night, and then nap throughout his day. So anytime Noctis mentioned the possibility of going to bed early, Prompto didn’t believe it. 

“What? I’m tired,” Noctis complained and sat up, “I’ve been here all day. We can hang out some other day, right?”

“Yeah, guess you’re right,” Prompto sighed and then groaned, “Crap. And I’ve got homework.”

“Lucky you,” Noctis said and smirked as Prompto flipped him off, “Hey, is that how you treat your new best friend? I'm hurt.”

“Screw you,” Prompto huffed and crossed his arms. He tried to look angry but in the end he laughed and shook his head, “Man. Well, it was fun. Want me to walk you out?”

Noctis rolled his eyes as he grabbed his jacket which he earlier had discarded onto the couch.

“I think I can make it across the room and down the stairs on my own," Noctis said as he headed towards the hall where he started to put his shoes on, "Just stay there.”

“Greeeaat,” Prompto said and leaned backwards until he was resting against a pile of pillows on his bed, “Spares me from having to get up. See you!”

"Have fun with your homework," Noctis called and headed out, grinning as he heard Prompto groan just before he closed the door.

 

* * *

 

Even after having had the conversation about the yakuza with Prompto, Noctis still couldn’t relax. Prompto had taken it _really_ well. Maybe a bit too well, even. And Noctis hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that ever since he had gotten back home around 7 PM, and now it was almost 4 AM.

Noctis swallowed as he looked down at his phone. He had typed out a message about ten times and deleted them all, but now he had done it again and his thumb was hovering above the send-button.

After taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and hit send. At least he hoped he did. Or maybe not. He opened one eye and felt both accomplished and terrified as he realized the message had been delivered to Prompto.

_You sure you still want to be friends?_

He was still worried that Prompto hadn’t been honest about it all, maybe he just hadn’t wanted to hurt Noctis’ feelings face to face. That’s why Noctis had decided to text him, but it was late at night and he wasn’t even sure if Prompto still was awake. Probably not, he was pretty sure the other had school the other day. And so did Noctis, but he didn’t particularly care. Prompto was passionate about his studies, even if he complained a lot about homework and assignments that didn’t involve practical work, like taking photos.

But Noctis still stared at his phone, and his heart beat a bit faster as he saw the three dots symbolizing that Prompto was writing. It soon stopped, though, and Noctis felt disappointment well up as a couple of minutes passed and nothing happened. No more dots, just the small print underneath Noctis' message saying “Read 3:47 AM”.

He sighed and stared up into the ceiling. Prompto had said that it was still cool, even calling them BFFs after the yakuza deal was out in the open, but Noctis couldn’t help worrying. It’s not as if he’d be angry if Prompto decided that he’d rather walk separate ways from Noctis. He couldn’t ask the other to stay friends when there always was a potential danger being around Noctis, even if his bodyguards were around.

Noctis almost jumped out of the bed as his phone started buzzing, but it wasn’t just a single buzz indicating a text, it was a phone call. With shaky hands he pressed the answer button and held the phone against his ear.

“H-hey?”

_“Dude... seriously?!”_

“I just… you know… I’m sorry?” Noctis groaned as he flipped over in his bed and buried his face in his pillow for a while, feeling stupid already.

_“We totally had a moment before! Of course I’m still your friend, didn’t I say we were besties forevah or something like that?”_

Noctis grimaced and turned his head so he could properly breathe and speak again.

“We had that moment before I said my dad was yakuza,” Noctis murmured, “I just wanted to make sure that you really meant it. If you’re afraid of hurting my feelings, don’t be. I’d totally understand if it bothers you.”

_“What kind of best friend would I be if I just let some yakuza business come between us? Nah Noct, you’re stuck with me! You been up until now thinking about it?”_

“You’re one to talk,” Noctis defensively said, “What are _you_ doing up?”

_“Woke up since my phone buzzed. Tried to type you a reply but I was still too sleepy to write, so thought calling would be better so you didn’t have to end up with a text you couldn’t read!”_

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Noctis sighed heavily, “You’ve got school tomorrow, right?”

_“Whatever, so do you!”_

“Yeah but I’m skipping. No way I’m sitting through a lecture on microeconomics when I’ve hardly slept,” Noctis sighed, he was sure he’d fall asleep if he went there, “But I should have waited until tomorrow to text you.”

_“Best friend privileges includes being allowed to text, call or show up at my door any time of the day, so it’s cool. I mean, I could just have looked at my phone and replied later but figured you’d not go to sleep if I did.”_

“Yeah…” Noctis murmured, feeling his face heat up a bit, “Sorry. I think too much.”

_“I know the feeling, so no need to apologize. But hey, if you’re skipping, maybe I can come over?”_

“If Ignis hasn’t killed me, then sure,” Noctis said with a shrug, “I can text you my address?”

_“Nice! I look forward to seeing your place!”_

“Yeah… just please, don’t show up too early.”

_“As if you’d even wake up if I rang your doorbell while you are sleeping. So... I’ll drop by around lunchtime?"_

“Sure,” Noctis said and smiled, “Just text me before, okay?”

_“Will do! But now… I’m gonna go back to my beauty sleep, and so should you. Better maintain that bed head of yours!”_

“Ha ha,” Noctis dryly said, “Fuck you.”

_“Love you too, pal. Now go the fuck to sleep.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a bit of a time skip because it would have been really mundane otherwise. And you'll find out how Gladio and Ignis has been doing in next chapter  
> And as you can tell, even if this story is an AU I still have put in some elements from the Final Fantasy universe, because we simply cannot have a world where there are no chocobos! (I've also mentioned the astrals, at least Ramuh, in the first chapter, so there's that too).
> 
> Thanks for reading, I'm still really happy that so many of you seem to enjoy this story!  
> (Also, the ever important shout-out to my girlfriend for beta reading and for being awesome motivation in general!)


	5. The father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, didn't realize over a week had passed, oops. But now it's here :D  
> And a bit of a warning: most of the chapter has been beta-read, but some parts aren't so I apologize if there are any errors!  
> (If I find any, I'll make sure to fix them.)

Gladio grimaced as he rolled his shoulders, walking out of the conference room. He wasn’t much for meetings, but when Regis called for the closest family then you showed up since it was important. And it had meant some alone time with Ignis, too, even if the other had been very preoccupied with trying to reach Noctis though phone, but of course he didn’t reply. Gladio’s bet was on him being asleep since no one had been there to get him out of bed in the morning.

And for once, he was actually jealous of Noctis. Nothing made Gladio feel more tired than those meetings. Normally Ignis was the one who’d attend, and then fill in Gladio on the important parts. If Clarus hadn’t told his son already.

“How’s Noctis doing?”

Gladio twitched as he turned around, coming face to face with Titus Drautos, one of Regis’ most trusted men next to Clarus and Cor.

“Pretty okay,” Gladio shrugged, “He's just busy being a broody teenager, you know?”

Drautos snorted, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Gladio sighed, “Half of the time I don’t know what’s going on in that head of his.”

“Shouldn’t he have been here for the meeting?”

“I keep Noctis updated on what he needs to know,” Ignis’ voice came from behind, making Gladio turn around instantly, “And just because his father is the boss, it does not necessarily mean that Noctis wants the same kind of life.”

“Still,” Drautos shrugged, “At Noctis’ age Regis was already about to take over after his father. He was heavily involved in everything, learning how to take over the reins." 

“Take it up with Regis then, if you have an issue with Noctis not being here,” Gladio was starting to feel annoyed, “And didn’t you have important shit to do? Something about finding out what the Niffs are up to?”

“Ulric and Altius are already on it,” Drautos crossed his arms, glaring at Gladio, “And you? Don’t you have anything important to do?”

“As a matter of a fact we do, it is time for us to head back to Noctis' apartment,” Ignis stated as he checked his phone for the time, normally he would have been there hours ago, “So we’ll have to take our leave. Drautos, have a good day.”

“Likewise.”

Once they turned around and headed out of the corridor Gladio finally let out a sigh of relief. There was something about Drautos that got on his nerves. Maybe it was related to the fact that Drautos only seemed to think of Gladio and Ignis as some kind of babysitters for Noctis, while his own charges were off doing dangerous jobs to keep updated on the Niflheim situation.

“Is it only me or does it feel as if he got something against us?” Gladio asked once he was sure they were out of hearing range.

“I can feel it, too, but who can blame the man?” Ignis asked as he glanced up at Gladio briefly, “I am sure he is on edge considering he is responsible for keeping track of Niflheim activity. And since Regis is concerned, Drautos must have a heavier workload right now. While ours remain the same as always.” 

“I'm still kinda surprised Regis hasn’t requested more bodyguards for Noct…” 

“I am quite sure he has considered it, but he is also aware of the fact that Noct loathes being followed around,” Ignis pointed out, “And this isn’t the first time Niflheim stirs up trouble. I can however see why Regis is concerned. A couple of our businesses near the outskirt of our territory have been burned down the last couple of days. And everything points to Niflheim.”

“Fucking Niffs,” Gladio grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest, “But what’s new? It’s just territorial nonsense. They think they’re threatening us doing that, huh?”

“They’re no doubt attempting to send us some sort of message,” Ignis murmured. He was clearly more worried about the situation than Gladio was, “The question is what they are trying to say.”

“Maybe it’s just a pissing contest to them,” Gladio shrugged, just wanting to think of something else. Niflheim always gave him a headache, “Hey… you free later today?”

Ignis raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic, “Excuse me?”

“It’s been a couple of months since I managed to drag you out,” Gladio put his hands in his pockets, trying to appear very casual, “Figured I could try again. The bar we went to is supposed to have nice meals, figured we could try it out. You do like going out to eat, right?” 

“Yes, I do…” Ignis said, but the look on his face had already said that he wouldn’t say yes to the date, “But I’m afraid there simply are too many things to handle right now. I want to head over to Noct, and after that I want to look into the Niflheim activity on my own.”

Gladio sighed but nodded, he had no right to control Ignis’ life. But he was a bit frustrated since things didn’t seem to go anywhere, and he wasn’t sure if it was because Ignis simply wasn’t interested, or if it was because he didn’t _get_ that Gladio had a thing for him. He had tried to subtly flirt with Ignis, but it always seemed to fly right over his head, or he’d take it the wrong way.

_“You know what? I really like you, Iggy.”_

_“Hm? The feeling is mutual, it’s pleasant to have found such a good friend within the family.”_

Of course it had been touching to hear that Ignis at least thought of him as more than a coworker, but Gladio had hoped that _maybe_ Ignis would take the hint without Gladio having to spell it out. Which obviously hadn’t worked. He hadn’t really tried since then, until now that is.

“Yeah… I understand,” Gladio murmured, “Need any help with that?”

“You are friends with Nyx Ulric, aren't you?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t really call us friends,” Gladio frowned as he thought of Nyx. At first they hadn't gotten along at all but after a couple of drinks they had at least learned to respect each other, “But we’ve been out drinking a couple of times. He’s an alright guy. Got his number.”

“Do you think you perchance could get some information about Niflheim out of him?” Ignis asked, “It would be simpler than having to go through all the documentation for the past months… He must know how things have escalated. I will look at the documents and reports, too, of course, but his personal report would be valuable, too. If it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Hey, if it’s for you I’ll do anything,” Gladio said with a grin on his face and winked. He studied Ignis face and he could almost swear that the other flushed. Or maybe it was just his imagination. Wishful thinking.

“Thank you, Gladio, I really -,”

“Ignis, Gladiolus!”

Both Ignis and Gladio stopped in their tracks, hastily turning around and coming face to face with Regis Lucis Caelum himself. Clarus was walking a couple of steps behind him, a very sour look on his face. 

“Sir…?” Gladio said, a look of surprise on his face. Regis didn’t often have time to see them privately, “Anything we can do for you?”

“First of all, I apologize for interrupting your conversation,” Regis smiled kindly at them, “But I wondered if you perhaps could humor an old man and speak to him for a bit?” 

“Regis… you have another meeting to attend soon -,”

“Clarus, _please_ , it can wait for ten minutes or so,” Regis sighed as he looked back at Clarus, who was frowning in disapproval, “Could you do me a favor and go ahead and let them know I will arrive shortly? I swear I will not keep them waiting for too long, trust me.”

Clarus glanced from Regis over to his son and then nodded, “If you say so.”

“I do.”

With that Clarus sighed and shook his head, turning around to head back. It was clearly not the only time Regis had asked Clarus to cover for him. Not that it mattered. Regis was the _oyabun_ , the boss of the entire Caelum syndicate, and his words were basically law. If Regis wanted to take a moment, he would. Normally he did listen to Clarus, though. Respect was important to him, and it went both ways. How could he expect to be a respected leader if he didn’t respect those working for him?

“It is good to see the two of you,” Regis smiled, but he looked strained as he approached them, “I’m glad I have a moment to talk a bit… I take you two were about to leave to go to my son?”

“Yes, we were just about to head over.”

“That is relieving, especially considering the Niflheim activity going on,” Regis admitted and let out a sigh of relief, “Would you care to walk with me for a while?”

“Of course,” Gladio said with a nod, “We’re not in that much of a hurry… Bet Noct is asleep anyway, the sleeping beauty ain’t gonna be sad if we show up a bit later.”

“Ah,” Regis chuckled as they started walking towards his private part of the estate, where only the closest family were allowed in, “I take it my son still values his sleep over anything else?”

“Iggy usually gets him up.”

“The key is cooking breakfast,” Ignis admitted with a sigh, “The smell of his favorite dishes might be the one thing combating his love for sleep.” 

“I see… How is he doing?” Regis asked after a while, a concerned look on his face, “I’ve not had time to properly see him for months, and the phone calls have been scarce and very brief. He has sounded a bit… dull, lately. And as a father, I cannot help but worry.”

Gladio was about to open his mouth and answer but Ignis was faster.

“I suspect there’s a lot on his mind right now,” Ignis quickly said, “He’s a teenager, after all. But he quite recently made a new friend, and his attitude has been quite positive in that regard…”

“But?” Regis prompted as Ignis trailed off, knowing that there was something that was left unsaid.

“But… I think he’s just having a bit of trouble finding himself,” Ignis said, every word carefully calculated to respect Noctis’ wishes while also trying to not lie to Regis, “He’s young and he doesn’t know what he really wants to do. If I were to assume, I’d say he believes he must take over one day. Even if you have explicitly stated that there is no such need.”

“Ah,” Regis sighed, and Ignis realized he looked horribly tired, “How are his studies going?”

“He’s… passing,” Ignis said after a while, purposely failing to mention Noctis’ bad habit of skipping lectures, “Perhaps not thrilled about some of his classes, but he is getting his assignments done in time… mostly.”

Gladio sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Part of him wanted to jump into the conversation and tell Regis that Noctis wasn’t doing nearly as well as Ignis was making it out to be. But at the same time he knew that Ignis had been right when he had said that they’d risk breaking the trust between them and Noctis if they did tell Regis.

Noctis was 19 and capable of making his own choices. Gladio couldn’t really justify telling Regis without Noctis’ permission, so he kept silent even if it was hard.

“Something on your mind, Gladiolus?”

“Uh, sorry, sir. It’s nothing.”

“Please, I've known you since you were in diapers,” Regis gave Gladio a pointed look, “Speak freely, there is no one but the three of us here.”

“I just… think that maybe you should see him sometime soon,” Gladio said with a grimace on his face, hoping that Regis didn’t take it as disrespect or him thinking that Regis was a bad parent, “We could drive him here. He’d be happy to see you face to face.”

For a while Regis and Gladio just looked at each other. It was incredibly hard to get a good read on Regis; his face didn’t betray any emotions unless he wanted to, and right now it was making Gladio very nervous.

“Gladiolus, _relax_ ,” Regis said after a while and put a hand on his shoulder, “I am not offended, if that’s what you fear. I have not been the best of parents lately. I shall see to my schedule and make sure I can see him… so I don’t have to hound the two of you like this. I apologize.”

“There is nothing to apologize for, sir,” Ignis bowed his head slightly again, “It’s our duty to guard your son, of course you can ask us how he is doing.”

“But I should be asking _him_ those questions,” Regis insisted, “But Noctis doesn’t share easily. Ah well, you have somewhat soothed my mind. I’m not going to keep you any longer. I’ll never hear the end of it from Clarus if I make him suffer through the beginning of the meeting on his own. Think you can make your way out on your own?”

“Of course, sir,” Ignis said and bowed, Gladio mirrored the movement next to him, “Good luck with the meeting.”

“Thank you,” Regis sighed, “I’ll certainly need it.”

 

* * *

 

“This TV is _huge_ , Noct!” Prompto exclaimed for what probably was the fifth time and Noctis simply groaned as he looked over at Prompto, but he couldn’t help smiling upon seeing how excited Prompto was.

“I know, you’ve said so like... a million times.”

“Can we hang out some more at your place? It’s really spacey. Also, your couch is way roomier than mine!” Prompto chuckled as he paused the game he was playing and looked over at Noctis who was curled up on a pile of pillows, “And softer!”

Prompto had arrived around lunchtime as they had planned, but Noctis had been sleeping at that point. And even now, several hours later, he still appeared tired. Not that it was very surprising to Prompto, he had kind of gotten used to how much Noctis slept and napped. It did however make him worry a bit, but Noctis insisted that he was fine. He had tried prodding, but it hadn't really worked. 

“Sure?” Noctis shrugged, “But I still like your place. It feels… I don’t know, lived in? This is still kind of a blank slate. It’s just… where I reside, pretty much. But yeah, we can switch it up a bit, I guess.”

“Nice!” Prompt said and got up from the couch, aimlessly wandering around the living room, “Can I see your room?”

“I… uh… it’s a mess,” Noctis awkwardly said as he looked over at Prompto, “I could show you next week? Just give me some time to clean up.”

It wasn’t a lie. Noctis' room was a _huge_ mess since he didn’t let Ignis into his room a lot of the time. And when he did, he tended to clean up at least a bit since he didn’t like letting people see just how bad the mess was. 

Right now there were probably about four full trash bags waiting to be thrown out, a lot of empty cans and containers of cup noodles, piles of laundry and other random shit he just hadn’t had the energy to sort through yet. And it had just been accumulating throughout the months. His room looked like a dump, and Prompto didn’t have to see just how much of a mess Noctis was.

“Awww, come on,” Prompto complained and pouted, “You’ve seen what a mess my apartment is!”

“Yeah but your apartment is tiny and your mess is like… an organized mess?” Noctis suggested and sighed as he shifted in the couch, rolling over to lie on his stomach so he could get a better view of Prompto, “My room looks as if a hurricane passed through.”

“Riiight, I’m sure it’s not _that_ bad.”

 _Oh it is worse than that,_ Noctis thought and sighed, but he didn’t say anything, hoping the subject would pass. And it soon did since Prompto always had _something_ to talk about.

“So… you live here alone?”

“Yeah,” Noctis shrugged, “Sometimes Ignis or Gladio stays the night cause I’ve got a guest room, but that’s pretty rare. There are always people around the building 24/7 anyway, so...” 

“What about your father?”

“Busy with yakuza business all the time,” Noctis glanced away, at least that was the truth “It’s always been like that.”

“Hey, I’m… I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s cool,” Noctis murmured, but he did feel incredibly bitter about it. Not that he blamed Regis, but it had always felt as if he was competing for attention with the entire yakuza business “What about you?”

“Oh, me? Uh, I’m adopted,” Prompto said after a while as he mindlessly looked through the shelf of DVD’s and games underneath the TV, “I lived with my parents until I turned 18, then I got my own place. They’re nice people, they just… work a lot. Also very busy people. So moving out didn't make a huge difference, you know?”

Noctis did know. He had lived outside his father’s estate since he was 16 because he had gotten tired of being in the midst of the yakuza business. Regis had very reluctantly agreed by making Ignis and Gladio permanent members of Noctis’ personal guard, and by stationing a handful of other men around Noctis' home. In a way it didn’t really take Noctis away from the yakuza at all, since he still had them around. But at least he wasn’t in the center of it any longer. But just like Prompto, it hadn’t been much of a difference for Noctis either, since he hadn’t seen much of his dad even while living at home.

“Sorry,” Noctis awkwardly said after a while, “That sounds pretty rough.”

“Aw man, let’s not get all mopey now!” Prompto cheerfully said but Noctis could tell it wasn’t as genuine as it used to be, but he decided to humor Prompto because he was also desperate for a change of subject, “So, what ga-,”

Prompto didn’t have time to finish the sentence before there suddenly was a sound of a door unlocking, and not much later Ignis walked into the apartment, his eyes widening a bit in surprise as he saw Noctis in the couch.

“Noct? I thought you were asleep.”

“Hey Specs,” Noctis said before yawning, waving at Ignis, “Would have been if Prompto hadn’t called me like ten times to get me to open the door… Did Dad bore you and Gladio to death with the meeting? And where is Gladio?”

“It was not boring,” Ignis rolled his eyes, “And Gladio is running an… errand, for me. I am certain he'll return shortly.”

After a while Ignis turned to look at Prompto who nervously fidgeted in the background, not sure what to say or do now that Ignis was there.

“You must be Mr Argentum, are you not?” Ignis asked and smiled politely as he approached and held out his hand towards Prompto, “I’ve only heard good things about you from Noct, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“U-uh, yeah! That’s me!” Prompto said with a nervous grin on his face as he took Ignis’ offered hand, “Uhm, you… you must be Ignis, right?”

“Ah, so Noct have told you about us as well?”

“I mean, he said that there were two of you and that the other one was a 2 meter tall wall of muscle and…” Prompto trailed off and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “Not that you’re like… not tall or -,”

Ignis simply chuckled and let go of Prompto’s hand, deciding to spare the poor boy from his own ramblings

“Compared to Gladio most people appear short,” Ignis lightly said and looked towards Noctis again, his eyes scanned the living room area and he frowned as he noticed the empty packages of cup noodles on the table, “Care for an early dinner? That can hardly have filled you up.”

“We had food,” Noctis drawled as looked at something on his phone, “It’s fine.”

“I insist,” Ignis said and looked over at Prompto, “Do you like curry?”

“I love curry!”

“Great, then I’ll throw something together," Ignis said and looked over at Noctis, "Something more satisfying than noodles."

Noctis sighed, but he couldn’t deny that he was starting to feel a bit hungry again, and Prompto looked quite excited. There was no point arguing about it, and it wasn’t as if Noctis really could stop Ignis once he had made up his mind anyway.

“King’s Knight until dinner’s ready?” Noctis looked over at Prompto after a while, his head slightly tilted to the side.

“Hell yeah!”

 

* * *

 

“Hey Iggy, got Nyx to spit some information out,” Gladio called the moment he spotted Ignis in Noctis' apartment, he appeared to be finishing up doing the dishes, “Wanna hear it now or -,”

“It can wait,” Ignis said and made a vague hand gesture towards the couch where Noctis and Prompto were seated, both more or less giving in to the incoming post-dinner food coma, “Noctis has company.”

Gladio raised an eyebrow as he eyed Prompto. He had looked forward to meet the guy and figure out who he was and how he had managed to get so close to Noctis in such a short span of time. Of course he had heard about Prompto from Noctis, and Gladio had also seen him from a distance. Thanks to Ignis' background check on Prompto, Gladio also knew quite a lot about the kid. He had sounded harmless, and Gladio thought he looked pretty harmless, too. 

“Hey, what’s your name, squirt?”

“Prompto Argentum,” Prompto quickly said as he quickly pushed himself up from the couch, holding his hand out to Gladio, “Nice to meet you!”

“Gladiolus Amicitia, but everyone calls me Gladio,” Gladio gave Prompto’s hand a firm shake, smirking slightly as Prompto grimaced when Gladio squeezed his hand just enough to make him squirm, “Mess with Noct and I break you. It’s my job.”

“Gladio, please don’t,” Noctis pleaded from the couch, still too tired and full from dinner to get up, “Behave.”

Prompto laughed nervously but then his eyes widened as he looked over at Noctis and then back to Gladio. It was obvious that something had clicked in his mind.

“Wait… Amicitia? Are... are you two are related?!”

 _Oh no_.

Noctis’ eyes widened in panic as he looked over at Gladio who had a surprisingly blank expression on his face, he was clearly not aware of what the hell was going on. It wasn't as if Noctis had told him about it, and he had never planned to since Gladio _never_ introduced himself with his full name. But it must have been coaxed out of him when Prompto stated his own entire name.

_Oh crap._

“What?” Gladio kept looking between Noctis and Prompto, confusion written all over his face.

_Oh fuck._

“Uh, I mean… Gladiolus Amicitia… Noctis Amicitia,” Prompto said and looked between the two of them, “You guys don’t look a lot like each other but Amicitia isn’t really a common name so it just felt as if it couldn’t be a coincidence? Or is it?”

“U-uhm, well, no,” Noctis nervously said and met Gladio’s gaze, he could see that it finally clicked in Gladio’s mind. Instant regret washed over Noctis, he should have known it’d come back to bite him in the ass.

“Cousins,” Gladio said after a short moment of thinking, sounding surprisingly chill about it, “My side of the family got the muscle, so someone gotta look after the little shit.”

“Hey!”

“You’re a scrawny little shit, Noct, no point denying it,” Gladio stated with a smug smirk on his face as he put his hands on his hips and straightened up, standing tall and broad. 

“Fuck you,” Noctis snapped, sounding a bit more harsh than he had intended to, "You're annoying." 

“So... this... has been nice, but maybe I should leave?” Prompto asked after a while, feeling really out of place all of a sudden. And he had kind of felt Noctis’ mood shift quite drastically.

Noctis opened his mouth, about to protest as he looked over at Prompto. He kind of wanted Prompto to stay, but he also wanted to sort things out with Gladio and Ignis, so his lie wouldn’t get busted just one day after it was conceived.

“You know… maybe that’d be good,” Noctis tiredly said and pushed himself up from the couch, “I’m kinda sluggish after dinner, and I got homework…”

“And a class to catch up on, right?”

“Yup,” Noctis said as he gently pushed Prompto towards the hallway, “Let’s hang out someday soon again, okay? You’re welcome back, just... don’t let Gladio scare you. It’s his job to look scary.”

Prompto snorted as he started getting his shoes on, in the background Gladio was complaining.

"I can be really charming when I want to be, just ask Ignis!"

"Don't drag Ignis into this, you're just a douchebag, there's nothing charming about you!"

 Prompto chuckled when he heard Ignis’ exasperated sigh. He had a feeling these kind of arguments were normal between the three of them.

“Well… uh, it was nice meeting you all!” Prompto brightly said as he grabbed his bag, “Thanks for the food, Ignis, that was seriously one of the best meals I’ve had!”

“You flatter me,” Ignis said but he smiled, “It was my pleasure. Have a good night.”

“You too,” Prompto said and his gaze landed on Gladio who just gave a short nod in goodbye, and that was good enough for Prompto since he still felt a bit intimidated by Gladio. He  quickly looked over at Noctis again, “So... text you later? See you?”

Noctis nodded, “Yeah, will do. Get home safe.”

“Safe is my middle name, no need to worry!” Prompto laughed as he opened the door and stepped out, throwing one last look over his shoulder, “Good night!”

The moment Prompto was out of the apartment and the door closed, Noctis just kept staring at the door. Part of him wanted to follow Prompto out just so he’d not have to turn around, but that’d be stupid. So in the end Noctis took a deep breath and turned, coming face to face with Gladio who once more had crossed his arms across his chest. There was a wide and smug grin on his face. Noctis wanted to wipe it off, but instead he headed back to his pile of pillows. Punching Gladio would only leave him with a hurting hand, anyway.

“So… Noctis Amicitia, huh?” 

“Shut up.”

“Man, didn’t know you felt like that, bet we could ask my old man to adopt you. Iris would be thrilled.”

“ _Shut up_.”

“Regis might be hurt though, having his one and only son be whisked away -,”

“Shut up!” Noctis threw a pillow at Gladio who easily caught it and lobbed it back at Noctis, hitting him right in the face.

“Why the fuck did you say your name was Amicitia?”

“I panicked,” Noctis muttered, “I told him that Dad was yakuza but I… I didn’t want to tell him all the details. And if I had said my full name was Noctis Lucis Caelum he would have known right away what a big deal dad is… a-and I just… I want to be _normal_ , okay? I’ve already admitted to not being that ordinary, but I just… want him to think that my dad is just any guy within the yakuza. So I blurted out the first name that came to mind.”

Ignis sighed and shook his head in disapproval, “If you were going to lie then you should have gone with a different name. The Amicitia family have had strong ties to Caelum for a very long time.”

“Yeah, you should have gone with Iggy’s last name.”

“I think _you’d_ rather have his last name,” Noctis muttered and rolled his eyes, refusing to look at either of them.

“Excuse me?” Ignis questioningly said, looking from Noctis to Gladio who was staring at Noctis. 

“Nothing,” Gladio muttered and glared at Noctis for a while longer, but his gaze softened as he started speaking again, “Not sure if Iggy told you already, but your old man wants to see you sometime soon. He stopped us to ask how you were doing.”

Noctis knew Gladio had changed subject on purpose, and it worked. The mention of his father made Noctis tense up immediately, and even if part of him wanted to ignore the statement, he couldn’t.

“What did you tell him?”

“That you have had a bit of trouble finding yourself,” Ignis admitted, which earned him a mild glare from Noctis, “I assure you I tried to respect your integrity, Noct, but he’s your _father_. I did not purposely try to make him worry about you. In fact, we let him know that you had made a friend and that you’ve been a bit more positive lately.”

Positive. It made Noctis scoff and he wrapped his arms around himself. It wasn’t about staying positive, it was so much more than that. When he was with Prompto he could _forget_ the bad feelings for a while. He could let go of the stress and anxiety and enjoy the moment, but that didn’t mean Noctis’ entire attitude had changed for the better, even if he wished it was that simple.

But no, every time he did say bye to Prompto and he’d go home, that empty feeling would return. And it was almost worse after they parted. He felt like a wilting plant, craving water and sunlight. Ignis usually provided Noctis with the water, but Prompto was the sunlight.

Maybe it was a silly comparison, but that was honestly how Noctis felt. Every time they parted it was as if someone pulled the blinds down and closed the curtains. At least their texts offered him a bit of joy even when they weren’t hanging out.

“Is he worried about me?”

“Of course he is,” Gladio sighed as he moved to sit down on the edge of the couch, “He’s your dad, it’s his job to be worried about you.”

“He shouldn’t have to, he's got enough on his plate already,” Noctis mumbled and stood up, avoiding their glances by staring down at the floor, “Thanks for letting me know but... I’m going to go take a nap.”

“Noct…” Ignis tiredly said even if he knew it was futile to try and stop Noctis. He couldn’t even bring himself to come up with an argument as if to why Noctis shouldn’t go take a nap.

And Noctis didn’t say anything as he headed into his room. Ignis tensed up a bit upon hearing the familiar sound of the door locking. Noctis hadn’t let him into the bedroom for months, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know what state the room was in if Noctis wasn’t cleaning up after himself.

After a couple of minutes of heavy silence Gladio finally spoke, “You _really_ think the brat is doing better?”

Ignis sighed and shrugged. He honestly didn’t know any longer.

“He was enjoying himself with Prompto earlier. Maybe he’s just upset because we talked about him with Regis,” Ignis murmured, “Hopefully he’ll be in a better mood after his nap.”

“Yeah,” Gladio said and looked over at Ignis. None of them believed that, but they could always hope, “So, want to hear what Nyx had to say?”

“Ah, yes, please tell me everything you can.”

At least it’d provide them with a bit of a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to move forward... and hopefully I'll get next chapter up faster than it took for this to be released!
> 
> Shout-out to everyone who's been leaving encouraging comments and kudos. I still am incredibly happy and grateful that you enjoy my story!  
> (And as always, a shout-out to my girlfriend for beta reading late at night even if she doesn't have to!)


	6. The magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! Finished earlier than I thought I would. Enjoy!

Prompto wasn’t quite sure how to approach Noctis any longer. They had been friends for months, they still regularly hung out, or well, they had until a couple of weeks ago. There was something different. Lately Noctis’ mood made him think of the day he had run into Noctis, and seeing that look on his face absolutely killed Prompto. And it was there more often than it was not, even when they were spending time together.

Of course Noctis would still pay attention to Prompto and smile and laugh at his jokes and stories, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. And when Noctis wasn’t aware of it, Prompto would carefully observe his face, seeing how exhausted and lifeless he looked when he didn’t think anyone was looking.

He had tried to bring it up, but Noctis was a master of deception (at least he seemed to think he was) and at changing subjects. Sometimes he got snappy when Prompto tried to dig deeper, and he usually took that as a sign to lay off since he didn’t want to push Noctis away. But it was getting ridiculous now.

They hadn’t seen each other for almost two weeks, and even the text messages were short. In the beginning Prompto had decided to give Noctis some space even if the other once had said that Prompto was welcome to drop by if he felt like it. But when giving Noctis space didn’t change anything, Prompto knew he had to do _something_ different _._

“Okay,” Prompto took a deep breath and took a look at the mirror, grinning widely at his mirror image to try and give himself some confidence, “You can do this, Prompto!”

His gaze travelled to the side of his mirror. Pictures were pinned to the side of it. Pictures that made him feel good. There were lots of photos of nature, and animals. But his favorite was one selfie he had taken with Noctis, because Noctis looked genuinely happy in that one. Now Prompto just felt sad looking at it, because he hadn’t seen that smile in a long time.

He had to remind himself of the fact that the reason why he was standing there in front of the mirror was to finally go see Noctis. Prompto had to see with his own eyes how he was doing, because he was starting to get really worried, especially after having been there to witness Noctis on a couple of his ‘bad’ days.

Usually that had involved Prompto showing up at Noctis’ apartment during afternoon and being greeted by Noctis looking as if he just had gotten out of bed. But he wouldn't tell Prompto to go away, instead he’d just step aside and let Prompto in. Sometimes, if he was feeling particularly tired, Gladio or Ignis would answer the door, usually letting him in since they had gotten quite used to his presence.

Those bad days Prompto did most of the talking, and sometimes all he did was sit in the couch and play games while Noctis lay down and used Prompto’s lap as a pillow.

Prompto didn’t mind that, because in a way it made him feel as if he had gotten a lot closer to Noctis, for him to even allow him in on such days. But it hurt to know that Noctis was dealing with something heavy on his own. So it was time to try and get through to him. He just hoped it wouldn’t backfire.

* * *

 “Prompto?”

“Hey, Specs!” Prompto cheerfully said as Ignis opened the door. It hadn’t taken him long to adopt the nicknames Noctis and Gladio used for him, “Is Noct in?”

Ignis nodded but glanced back into the apartment, a worried look on his face.

“He is, but I am not sure if he’s up to seeing people…” he murmured, “Bad day.”

“Oh,” Prompto softly said, but he wasn’t a single bit surprised, “Uh, can I come in anyway? I’ll leave if he insist.”

“Of course, I apologize for making you stand out there. Come on in,” Ignis stepped aside, allowing Prompto to enter the apartment, “Maybe you will be luckier than I’ve been. I tried to get some food into him at least, but he didn’t as much as pick at it. He is in his room, but it might be locked.”

“Really bad day, then,” Prompto concluded as he took his shoes off and dropped his bag on the floor, “Let’s see if I can work some magic.”

Ignis walked back into the kitchen where he had been making himself a cup of coffee, he turned to look at Prompto once more after a while.

“I hope you can. But do not get your hopes up.”

“Alright, keeping hopes to a minimum, got it!” Prompto confirmed and saluted Ignis before walking backwards towards Noctis’ room.

But he froze in place in front of the door. Even if about a month had passed since Prompto first had visited Noctis’ apartment, he still hadn’t been allowed into his bedroom. After a week of begging Prompto had given up, figuring that maybe it was too private. But they had gotten really close, so Prompto hadn’t seen why it was such a big deal, and he had even told Noctis that he was fine with his room being messy, that there would be no judgement coming from him.

With a deep breath Prompto reached out his hand and carefully knocked on the door three times.

_“Go away.”_

“After dragging my ass all the way here? You hurt me, Noct,” Prompto called through the door, “Can I come in?”

_“Prompto?”_

“Yup, that’s me. You never seemed to mind me dropping by unannounced, so… I invited myself. Or well, Ignis let me in,” Prompto nibbled on his lip for a while, waiting for an answer that didn’t come, “Noct…? Hey, you better say no now if you don’t want to let me in! Otherwise I’ll step in soon.”

There was still no reply and Prompto sighed as he reached out and grabbed the door handle, internally he counted down from ten. Slowly.

_Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five._

Still no reply or sounds coming from Noctis’ room.

_Four. Three. Two and a half. Two. One and three quarters. One and a half. One and a quarter. One._

Prompto took a deep breath and pulled down the handle.

_Zero._

“Ready or not, here I come,” he called as he pushed the door and to his relief realized it was unlocked, “Noct?”

Prompto squinted as he looked into the room. Noctis bedroom was large, and it was quite dark in there since the blinds were shut. The only thing that somewhat illuminated the room was the TV mounted on the wall, and the light that Prompto had let in by opening the door.

He soon realized that Noctis had been right when he had described his room as a mess. Prompto’s apartment appeared to be really tidy compared to Noctis’ room. There were several full trash bags in a corner of the room, clothes littered the floor along with empty snack bags, bottles and cans. And a lot of other things. As Prompto finally took a step into the room and closed the door, he had to be careful not to step on something.

“Hey, Noct?”

All that he could see of Noctis was a tuft of hair sticking out from underneath a blanket. After a little while Prompto got a response, but it wasn’t really a word or a gesture, more like a noise coming from the bed. At least Noctis wasn’t telling him to go away, so that was something.

He didn’t bother turning on the lights out of respect for Noctis. Instead he squinted as he navigated himself towards Noctis bed and sat down on the edge of it, looking down at the Noctis-shaped lump.

“I just met Ignis… he said you perhaps weren’t up to seeing anyone,” Prompto softly said and sat down cross-legged on the bed for comfort, “Had a feeling you weren’t feeling too hot, but sometimes a bit of company can be nice… even if it’s just sitting around in silence.”

Noctis shifted a bit but he didn’t say anything.

“Really though, if you want me to leave then feel free to kick my ass out,” Prompto chuckled, “You’ve not wanted to let anyone in here. I get it, I just invaded your space so… it’s up to you, Noct.”

“You can stay,” Noctis murmured, his voice slightly muffled by the blanket covering him.

Prompto let out a sigh of relief and smiled, looking down at the place where Noctis’ hair was poking out. Part of him wanted to reach out and touch it, another part thought it was a really stupid and silly idea. But his hair had always looked so soft.

“Cool, that’s good to know,” Prompto said, nodding to himself, “You wanna stay under the blanket? Or maybe you’d be up to marathoning something on Netflix? Heard there’s some new animated show that seemed pretty good and fun. Maybe you’d enjoy it.”

Noctis shifted a bit more, and soon the upper half of his face was visible. He gazed up at Prompto.

“Does it have aliens?”

“Aliens and robots,” Prompto said with a grin on his face, “The best out of two worlds.”

“Guess that sounds alright,” Noctis voice wasn’t very loud or enthusiastic, but Prompto was just happy that Noctis was acknowledging him, “Can…”

“I can set it up, no worries!” Prompto exclaimed, “Just stay in bed, and I’ll go grab your Playstation from the living room. Unless you’ve got Netflix on your TV?”

“I do have it on my TV,” Noctis said, “It’s a smart-TV.”

“Of course it’s a smart-TV, should have known,” Prompto snorted and looked around, “Well, uh, I’ll find the remote control, then!”

“Sorry… it’s a huge mess… I…” Noctis’ voice cracked and he pulled the blanket over his head again, “Sorry.”

“No no no! It’s fine!” Prompto insisted as he put a hand on Noctis’ shoulder, “Just give me a minute!”

It took a bit longer than a minute looking through Noctis’ room in hunt for the remote control, but he did eventually find it underneath a shirt discarded on the floor.

“Got it!” Prompto said as he returned to the bed and sat down again, resting his back against the headboard of the bed. He gently poked Noctis through the blanket, “Come on, you won’t be able to enjoy those aliens and robots underneath the blanket, Noct! Also, I have no freaking idea how to use a smart-TV. Help a poor pleb out.”

Noctis sighed as he once more emerged from his blanked and pushed him up in a sitting position as well, taking the remote from Prompto’s hand to start up Netflix. Once the app was running he handed the remote back and shuffled up next to Prompto and leaned against him.

It was kind of inappropriate, Prompto thought, but he couldn’t help feeling his heart beat a bit faster upon feeling Noctis against him. He was there to support his friend, not to get all giddy about them being close.

“O-okay, aliens and robots,” Prompto said with a nervous laugh as he found the show he was looking for, “Here we go!”

* * *

Noctis wasn’t sure how long time had passed, but they had managed to get through about four or five episodes of the show when Netflix showed the infamous “Are you still watching?” pop-up. Instead of grabbing the remote control to press ‘yes’, Prompto turned his head and shifted his attention to Noctis.

“Hey, Noct… you wanna talk about it?”

Noctis sighed and shrugged. His head was resting against Prompto’s shoulder, eyes still stuck on the screen even if there wasn’t anything to watch on it.

“I don’t know what there is to talk about.”

“You know, about _you_ , how you’re doing.”

“That doesn’t really make things any easier. I don’t know what to say. I can’t really explain it.”

Prompto took a deep breath and Noctis hoped that he just would let it go. And he had been honest to Prompto, he didn’t know how to explain how he felt. And even if he could, he was pretty sure that it wouldn’t make any sense.

“Have you _tried_ explaining it?” Prompto asked after a while and Noctis shook his head, “Then try me. Even if it doesn’t make sense in your head, or if you think it won’t make sense to me… just say whatever you feel like. There must be something.”

“I’m just… tired?” Noctis questioningly said, “Always tired, no matter what. Almost as if something is leeching the life out of me.”

“It’s not only that though, right?” Prompto asked, “I get that you are tired, but there’s more to it… isn’t it?”

Noctis took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. This was a conversation he hadn’t wanted to have, but now that they were there, talking, he felt as if he had to continue.

“I don’t know… I guess sometimes I feel like ceasing to exist would be nice, basically,” he murmured, “Not like I want to die, but I also don’t want to be here and deal with this shit. Does that make any sense?”

“More than you know, Noct,” Prompto said with a concerned frown on his face, “Have you talked about this with anyone? Like, maybe you could see a professional? It’s not a bad thing.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” Noctis quietly said, and started to restlessly shift against Prompto, but at least he didn’t move away, “I’m not good with people I don’t know. And I’m hardly good with people I do know… you should know that by now.”

“Hey,” Prompto said and wrapped an arm around Noctis, pulling him in a bit closer. It made Noctis’ heart skip a beat, “It’s okay, I think you’re good! I mean, you did let me in, huh? That’s something. And you don’t have to talk to professionals, but maybe you could talk to others? Like, uh… me? Ignis? Gladio? We all care about you.”

Noctis let his eyes flutter shut for a moment, enjoying the warmth from Prompto. Both his body heat, and his personality. It was ridiculous how much one person could change things. Before meeting Prompto, Noctis always refused to talk about his feelings. He simply shut everyone out and escaped into his room. Now that he thought about it, he felt a bit guilty about how harshly he had rejected Gladio and Ignis when they had tried to talk to him. He had refused to open up, instead snapping at them to leave him alone.

But he hated showing himself weak. But somehow it was alright with Prompto there, he made it not feel as such a bad thing.

“But I don't even… get it myself,” Noctis sounded pained as he spoke, “I'm just… unhappy? A lot of the time it feels as if there’s a mountain on my chest, as if Titan has dumped a mountain on me. And I can hardly breathe, it gets so… so hard to just do the simplest thing. You see the fucking mess in here? I can’t even take out the trash. That’s how useless I am.”

He was about to go off about more things he couldn’t do, things he wanted to do but just couldn’t bring himself to do, but Prompto tightened his one-armed embrace and spoke before Noctis could form a proper sentence in his mind.

“You’re _not_ useless! That… that does sound kinda like depression, though,” Prompto honestly said. He used his thumb to draw patterns on Noctis’ arm, it was quite soothing, “And that’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it could explain a lot. I mean, I used to have issues, uhm… I’ve been seeing therapist and so on but I’m in a good place now. Sure some days can be a bit rough, but I’ve found ways to deal with it.

“You were depressed?”

Prompto nodded in affirmation.

“I was lonely a lot of the time as a kid. And I wasn’t very confident in myself. I, uh… I was a lot bigger back then. A lot. And I know it isn’t bad, but I felt bad about it. Eventually I lost weight but it didn’t really do much of a difference for my self-esteem, so I started seeing someone for it,” Prompto softly said, “I’d like to think I turned out kind of alright in the end.”

Noctis bit his lip and put a hand on Prompto’s chest, burying his fingers in the fabric of his shirt.

“You’re more than alright,” he murmured, “You are great. And you’re gorgeous, I’m sure you were before as well even if you didn’t see it.”

“I’m glad you think so, Noct, and uh… thanks I guess?” Prompto let out an awkward chuckle, “And I think you can turn out great, too, if you get to talk about it more. Sometimes these things never really go away, but if you’re not carrying them alone… maybe it’s a bit easier? Let me take some of that weight off of your back. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with my crap,” Noctis grumbled, “You didn’t sign up for this when you met me.”

“Hey, I _want_ to deal with your crap,” Prompto insisted with a frown on his face, “I’d prefer if there was no crap to deal with at all, but if there is crap then I’m here for you, okay? And let me ask you a question. On a scale from 1-10, how shitty did you feel before I came over?”

“Probably a 17,” Noctis shrugged.

“Oh, so… the scale broke,” Prompto said and Noctis nodded, “Uh, how about now? After having had some good old Netflix-marathoning and talks? 1-10?”

Noctis opened his mouth but closed it again. He realized he had to think a bit. Before Prompto had entered his room he had honestly just wished for a black hole or something like that to appear and just swallow him. He had been going between just lying there, sleeping and crying since the previous evening.

But when Prompto had arrived it had felt a bit lighter, a bit easier to breathe. And he had even managed to make Noctis smile a couple of times as they watched the show. That was more than anyone else had managed lately.

“Maybe a 7? Or a 6?” Noctis said after a while, “It’s bad but not the kind of ‘I wish I didn’t exist’-bad that I felt before.”

“Hey, now we’re working _within_ the scale! That’s progress!” Prompto happily said and grinned, “Sometimes a little help and company changes a lot. And I really want to help you, Noct. You just gotta let me do it.”

“Thank you,” Noctis said and smiled, “That day you ran into me… I was really miserable. And I don’t know what place I’d be in if we hadn’t met. You didn’t even know me back then, but you still somehow managed to make things better.”

“I kinda knew,” Prompto admitted, “Maybe not exactly how miserable you were, but I could see on your face that you had a really crappy time. And not just because I had knocked you over.”

“It did feel as if you could see right through me,” Noctis murmured, “When you asked if it was one of those days. Remember that?”

“Yeah. I thought you looked really sad,” Prompto nodded, “And then it became my mission in life to make you happy!”

“Thanks,” Noctis chuckled, “It makes me happy to know you want to see me happy.”

“Hey, there’s that smile again!” Prompto exclaimed, a grin on his face, “I’ve missed that! I missed your face in general though, haven’t seen you for almost two weeks, you know?”

Noctis’ smile fell a bit as he heard that and he glanced away so he wouldn’t have to look Prompto in the eyes.

“Sorry…”

“No man, it’s cool,” Prompto assured, “I just… you seemed to be really down and I wasn’t sure how to go about it so I decided to give you some space, in case I was overbearing.”

“What?” Noctis turned back to look at Prompto again, “You were just… trying to give me space?”

“Yeah?” Prompto questioningly said, “What did you think I was doing?”

Instant relief washed over Noctis upon hearing that. The first week he hardly heard from Prompto he had thought that the other simply was busy with school and work, but as one week had turned into two he had started to just think of bad scenarios, which all had the same conclusion; Prompto had grown tired of him.

And the thought of losing Prompto really hurt. Noctis liked him a lot, and he had treasured the time they had spent together lately, even if he had been too tired to do much. But just spending time with Prompto, resting his head in his lap and feeling Prompto lazily play with Noctis’ hair… it made him feel loved. Or at least liked. So when the random hangouts had stopped, it had obviously affected Noctis mood, making him feel lonely and isolated in addition to everything else.

“I thought you had gotten tired of hanging out with me,” Noctis admitted and he felt his face heat up a bit, “Since I’ve been really boring lately. But I do enjoy hanging out with you, even when I have shitty days.”

_I always want to be around you._

Noctis swallowed as he gripped even tighter at Prompto’s shirt and tried to shuffle even closer to him if it even was possible. Noctis wasn’t sure when he had started feeling the need to be so close to Prompto. He felt starved of human contact.

“Shit, Noct. I’m sorry if I made you feel as if I didn’t care about you,” Prompto said and rested his own head against Noctis’, “I do. I guess I should have just asked, huh?”

“Same goes for me,” Noctis muttered, “I could have just texted you and asked, too.”

“Seems we gotta work a bit more on our communication,” Prompto said and laughed because Noctis’ stomach chose that exact moment to growl loudly, “But I think that’s a pretty obvious sign that you’re hungry. Let’s go get some food into you! I’m sure Ignis happily will oblige!”

Just as Prompto was about to release his grip on Noctis to drag him out of bed, Noctis grabbed a hold of Prompto’s arm and without thinking much further he planted a kiss against Prompto’s cheek. The moment he let go of Prompto he felt his entire face heat up.

“Uh, thanks,” Noctis awkwardly said and looked away, “Thanks for caring about me.”

“A-anytime, Noct!” Prompto stuttered out and grabbed Noctis, pulling him up from the bed, “Now food!”

Noctis let Prompto drag him out of his room, but he still clung to his blanket which was wrapped around his shoulders. Out there they came face to face with Ignis, who looked as if he had seen a ghost upon seeing the two of them out of the room.

“Noct?” Ignis said in surprise as Noctis walked out his own bedroom, next to Prompto, “You are feeling better?”

Noctis nodded and smiled weakly, “A bit… Prompto helped.”

“Told you I’d work my magic,” Prompto said with a grin on his face, “He’s hungry. At least I guess that’s what his stomach tried to communicate to us.”

“I’ll make something right away,” Ignis quickly said and downed the last of his coffee before putting the cup down and rolling up his sleeves, “Anything specific you wish for?”

Noctis sighed and shook his head, “No… do what you feel like, Specs.”

“I’m glad to finally see you out of your room.”

“Sorry for worrying you.”

Noctis honestly felt guilty about that. Ignis was trying so hard to make him feel better, but he just shut him and Gladio out. But it wasn’t their jobs to worry about him, just to keep him safe from any possible enemies Regis had. At least Gladio seemed to get that, but Ignis was a different story. The man would walk over mountains and seas for Noctis. He had no doubt about it.

“It’s quite alright,” Ignis said as he started rummaging through Noctis’ fridge, which was surprisingly well-stocked. He must have taken it upon himself to do Noctis’ grocery shopping again, “But I appreciate the apology none the less.”

As Ignis cooked Prompto and Noctis moved over the living room couch, starting up Netflix on Noctis’ Playstation 4 so they could pick up where they left off in their marathon.

Noctis smiled softly to himself as he felt Prompto’s arm around him, and he once more let his head fall to Prompto’s shoulder.

Things were still pretty shitty, but with Prompto next to him it was okay.

Eventually Ignis joined them in the couch, for once not insisting that they’d all eat at the dining room table. He even expressed interest in the show, and Noctis couldn’t help smiling as he listened to Prompto excitedly retell the plot and what had happened the previous episodes. Sitting there in the middle of them made him almost feel normal.

After dinner Ignis eventually took his leave, after Noctis had insisted that Ignis headed home to enjoy some of his free time. It hadn’t been easy because Ignis was more like a doting mother than a bodyguard, but he had given up once Prompto assured him he’d look after Noctis. Noctis had simply huffed and muttered something about not needing to be babied, but he hadn’t complained when Prompto had grabbed Noctis’ hand and smiled at him.

Now they had returned to Noctis’ bedroom, continuing their marathon in there. And Noctis was still holding on to Prompto’s hand, even if he was starting to feel sweaty.

“I… Prompto…” Noctis trailed off, he looked down at their intertwined fingers, “Don’t go tonight?”

Prompto blinked in surprise as he looked at Noctis’ face.

“You want me to stay the night?”

“Yeah, well… you don’t have to,” Noctis awkwardly said, he was starting to regret asking Prompto to stay. He felt small and childish, and was pretty sure his face had gone bright red, “Uh… you have school tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, do you?”

Noctis let out a laugh at that and pulled a hand through his hair. Gods. School was the last thing he had worried about lately. He had not gone to any of his lectures for one and a half weeks, and he had hardly touched his homework. Also, he was pretty sure he had an essay due next week. Or had the deadline already passed? He’d have to go check his schedule online.

“I don’t know, maybe?” he suggested with a shrug, “I haven't been there for a while. I guess I got to somehow get a grip but…”

“I’ll stay.”

“What?”

“I’ll stay, and tomorrow I’m gonna help you clear out your room a bit.”

“But school -,”

“Dude, I can miss one day of school,” Prompto laughed and poked Noctis’ chest, “Also, you have no right to tell me to go to school, you hypocrite.”

Noctis sighed but returned the smile after a while, looking around the room. In the dark it didn’t look that bad since you hardly could see the mess, but with the lights on all of it was revealed, and it made Noctis feel a bit disgusted by how far he had let it go.

“It’s a dump.”

“Depression does that,” Prompto said and got up from the bed, appearing to be very unbothered by it all, “It’s not as if the mess in your room is your biggest problem but clearing it up might make you feel a bit better. Small things, you know?”

“I guess?”

“Noct… uhm…” Prompto trailed off and scratched the back of his head. Noctis knew it meant he was nervous about something, or embarrassed. He had seen Prompto like that many times, “Do you…”

“Do I…?”

“Shit, man, nah it’s… it’s nothing,” Prompto turned away and laughed, “Dunno what I was thinking about, really.”

Noctis raised an eyebrow and grabbed a pillow, hugging it tightly to his chest, “So ‘nothing’ got you all worked up? Come on, I’ve known you long enough to tell that you’re lying.”

“It can wait, you had a rough day already. Maybe it’s a bad time.”

“Prompto, all my days are rough days,” Noctis deadpanned, an unimpressed look on his face, “Stop making excuses. You made me talk, now you talk. ”

Prompto turned his head and smiled sheepishly at Noctis.

“I guess we’re being real today, anyway huh? Maybe it’s the perfect time,” he chuckled awkwardly and flushed a bit, “Uh. Okay, so, maybe I’ve been reading things entirely wrong, and if that’s the case then I’m sorry. I don’t want to make things awkward, but like… I really like you Noctis. And I’m talking _like_ like, not just… like. If you get what I mean?”

Noctis’ eyes widened a bit as he looked into Prompto’s eyes. His heart was starting to beat a bit faster and he felt himself flush as well. He did understand what Prompto meant, and Noctis had been feeling things around Prompto the past two months, but he hadn’t said anything since Prompto was one of few friends he had. And he hadn’t wanted to ruin it.

So hearing Prompto come out and say that he felt like that, it made Noctis’ heart ache in a good way, if that even was possible. And before he could stop himself, tears were running down his face, but he smiled despite that.

“I _like_ like you, too, Prompto,” he murmured, “I wouldn’t have kissed your cheek if I didn’t.”

Prompto almost looked surprised at hearing that, as if he had expected rejection. But Noctis couldn’t blame him, that was what he had feared as well. But at least Prompto had taken action. Prompto was much braver than him, and he loved him for it.

“Really?” Prompto asked, the excitement in his voice impossible to overlook, “Oh man, I… I wasn’t sure, you know? Even if we’ve been cuddling up a lot lately and stuff, I wasn’t sure. I thought you maybe just platonically liked me, as a bro. But uh, I mean, that would also have been cool. I mean I’ve enjoyed our platonic bro-love a lot, but It’s nice to know you feel more than that, too, so -”

“Gods, Prompto, _breathe_.”

At the request Prompto did take a moment to suck in a deep breath and then he let it out, slowly. He repeated it a couple of times before he looked over at Noctis again, who patiently was waiting for him to speak again.

“So… just to make sure, uh, are we boyfriends, then? If we both _like_ like each other?”

“Boyfriends…” Noctis repeated, “Yeah… I think I’d like to be your boyfriend. If you wanna be mine?”

“I’d love to, Noct,” Prompto said and approached the bed, sitting down right in front of Noctis so he could wrap his arms around him. At least he tried his best, since Noctis was wrapped in a bunch of blankets, “Can I kiss you?”

Noctis nodded as he managed to sneak his own arms out of the blankets, wrapping them around Prompto.

“You can.”

Prompto didn’t say anything more. Instead he just looked deeply into Noctis’ eyes before closing the little distance left between them and letting his lips brush against Noctis’.

It was soft and slightly hesitant. Noctis hadn’t really done a lot of kissing in his life. Once when he was younger he had gotten a kiss from Luna, but it had been pretty innocent. And he considered her his friend and nothing more than that, it had just been childish curiosity so Noctis wasn’t even sure if it counted as a first kiss.

But after a while Prompto put a hand against Noctis’ cheek and kissed him with a bit more of determination, as if he was trying to tell Noctis how much he cared about him just through that one kiss. Once their lips parted, Prompto kept his forehead pressed against Noctis’ for a while and smiled.

“Wanted to do that for a while, to be honest,” he chuckled, “So. How was that?”

“I think I’m a 3 on the shit-scale now,” Noctis murmured and smiled wryly, “I liked it. I like you.”

“Babe, you’ve seen nothing,” Prompto grinned and gave him one more brief kiss, “Uh, can I even call you that?”

“I always thought that I’d never like being called something like that, but when it comes from you I actually don’t mind,” Noctis snorted, “So, yeah. You can.”

“Good, because you’re a total babe,” Prompto wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

“Okay, now you’re just being embarrassing,” Noctis huffed and gently shoved Prompto away, but he smiled.

Maybe things weren’t too bad after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Noctis you have no idea what's coming for you... Uh. I mean, nooo. Nothing bad will happen at allll. Nope.  
> This was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, to be honest. Some things were inspired of my own experiences, so it got a bit emotional at times, but still fun to write! Not 100% sure when next chapter will be out, but I am for this weekend!
> 
> And I can't stress how much it means to me that there's a bunch of you who enjoy this story. Huge thanks to you who read, comment and/or leave kudos. It's an incredible boost for my motivation and for my confidence, so thanks a lot. I hope I'll continue to deliver chapters you like!  
> (As always; shout-out to my lovely girlfriend for beta-reading my fics and finding my mistakes. And also for being a great support in general!)


	7. The father, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking a while with this one! I have done about three rewrites and wasn't happy with it until now. But better late than never, right? :D

To say that Gladio was frustrated was an understatement.

The last couple of weeks had been rough. Noctis had hardly left his room, which in turn had made Ignis go into full “mom-mode”, as Gladio liked to call it. He was sighing, pacing, knocking on Noctis’ door, making food that didn’t get eaten, and cleaning even though there hardly was anything to clean.

And it had driven Gladio up the wall. And _maybe_ he had even gotten angry at Noctis at some point, blaming _him_ for Ignis turning into the most worried person on the planet, which in turn made Gladio into the most irritable person on the planet.

Gladio sighed as he headed up the stairs to Noctis’ apartment. He had tried to stay out of the place the last couple of days since he just got snappy and mean, but now Ignis had insisted that Gladio had to go in, because Ignis himself was busy doing something else. After a short phone call Gladio hadn’t been able to say no.

_“Iggy, the brat’s just gonna be in his room. I’ll be in the Regalia, outside.”_

_“He’s been out of his room the past couple of days, and you_ will _go into that apartment to make sure he still lives, and you will_ not _snap at him. Have I made myself clear or do I have to repeat myself again?”_

He grimaced as he came to a halt before Noctis’ apartment door. Last time he himself had stepped in had been about four days earlier, when Noctis still had been locked into his room despite Ignis attempts at coaxing him out with promises of good food and company. Then Gladio had stomped his way to Noctis’ door and yelled at him through it, but it hadn’t even been satisfying since Noctis never granted him a response.

Gladio still shuddered as he thought of the withering glare Ignis had sent him, and after that he had decided to stay out of the way and just do his job from a bit of a distance, even if it was boring. But his one weakness was saying no to Ignis, so he hadn’t been able to back out.

“Fucking hell,” Gladio muttered as he pulled a hand through his hair and sighed.

What was he waiting for, just standing outside staring at the door?

Instead of knocking he pulled out his keycard to Noctis’ apartment and swiped it, deciding to just walk in as if everything was normal.

Normal in this case would have meant walking into a seemingly empty apartment with Noctis refusing to leave his bedroom, or to see him mope in the couch. Not walking in to see Noctis with his arms wrapped around his best friend in the hallway, kissing him, which was exactly what was happening.

“Holy fuck.”

“Gladio?!”

“Shit,” Gladio said, eyes wide. He wasn't sure if he was most surprised to see Noctis out of his room, or to see the two of them kiss, “Look who has emerged from his cave.”

Noctis’ almost looked scared as he stared at Gladio, and Prompto just let out a nervous laugh, his hands still resting on Noctis’ shoulders. He obviously didn’t know where to go or what to say.

“Gladio… I… uh… you…”

“Good on you,” Gladio said after a while and grinned, kicking his shoes off and ruffling Noctis’ hair as he walked past the two of them, “Thought you guys were getting a bit too cozy to just be friends.”

“Uhm…”

Gladio snorted, he had apparently broken Noctis. But it was fine, his mood was instantly improved upon seeing Noctis out of his room, and now he’d never let him live it down.

“Iggy couldn’t come today. Not sure exactly what he’s doing but I think he’s at the estate.”

“Dad’s?”

“What other estates do you know?”

Noctis flipped Gladio off before turning to Prompto again. His face had gone entirely red but he did lean in to kiss Prompto one more time even if Gladio still was staring at them.

“See you tomorrow?”

Prompto grinned and nodded, “For sure! And _please_ at least look at your schedule today? And consider dropping out of a couple of courses if you feel they don’t do anything, okay? Otherwise I’ll force you to do it tomorrow!”

Noctis groaned, but after Prompto gave him the look of a kicked puppy he nodded, “Sure, fine. I’ll take a look.”

“That’s my Noct,” Prompto laughed as he stepped back and grabbed his backpack. He hesitated a while before looking over at Gladio, having avoided eye contact since he walked in, “Uh, nice seeing you, Gladio! Bye! Please don’t kill me! I’m treating him well and I’m waaay too young to die!”

“Why would he… oh come on!” Noctis rolled his eyes and then pushed Prompto out of the apartment, “Don’t humor the jerk. See you, and... take care, okay?”

“You too, hot stuff.”

With that Noctis closed the door. Gladio just smirked as he watched Noctis’ back, patiently waiting for him to turn around, which he did after staring at the door for almost a minute.

“Gladio… please don’t tell Dad." 

“Why the hell would I tell your dad about you hooking up? You’re an adult and I’m not your _babysitter_.”

“I don’t know, because he _hired_ you to be my bodyguard and eliminate potential threats in my life?” Noctis questioned and crossed his arms as he walked back into the living room.

“You banging Prompto is hardly a potential threat to your life,” Gladio snorted, “As long as you’re using protection, I mean there’s some nasty STI’s out there and -,”

“Shut up!” Noctis put his hands over his ears and turned around, “Wow! I don't need to hear this! We got together just a couple of days ago!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, _really_ ,” Noctis said and dropped down into the other end of the couch, glaring mildly at Gladio, “And where have you been? Have hardly seen you for a week.”

“As if you could see anything when spending that much time locked into your room, princess.”

Noctis winced at that and looked away. Gladio almost thought he looked embarrassed or ashamed. He had probably hit a sore spot. He tended to do that, but he was just frustrated and wanted Noctis to be alright. Too bad he just seemed to butcher his attempts at making him cheer up.

“Sorry about that,” Noctis muttered, “I wasn’t feeling too good.”

“No shit?”

“But… Prompto and I are working on it, I guess,” he said after a while, “He helped me clear out my room a bit, and I’m going to try and pick up school again. If I haven’t fucked up too badly by hardly attending for weeks…”

“You could always ask Iggy to help you set up a study schedule,” Gladio pointed out, knowing that Ignis would do absolutely anything to make Noctis’ life a bit easier, “He’d be all over it in no time.”

“But he’s _always_ spending time trying to dote on me,” Noctis complained and slouched down, staring up at the ceiling, “It’s not even his job. He deserves to do something else with his free time.”

Gladio just stared at Noctis for a while, feeling quite surprised at hearing Noctis admit to the fact that he also thought Ignis spent too much of his time around. Perhaps Gladio had been a bit unfair in getting annoyed at Noctis for Ignis’ behavior, when it simply seemed to be Ignis who insisted no matter what Noctis said.

“You know he’s not gonna back down, right?”

“I guess.”

“So, Prompto's the one who managed to get you out of your room?”

Noctis nodded, “First we just watched movies in there, but he dragged me out because I had to eat.”

Gladio nodded slowly, staring at Noctis. He could tell that Noctis had lost a bit of weight lately, which he wasn't all that surprised about considering the amount of times he had turned down meals that Ignis had offered. And even though Ignis had left several servings of food in the fridge, most of them had remained untouched.

“How are you really doing, Noct?” 

“Fine," Noctis murmured as he started picking on his nails, refusing eye contact.

“Well ain’t that swell?”

“Fuck you, Gladio,” Noctis snapped, “Wasn’t it you who told me to man up last time you were here? To stop being a whiny little bitch? What do you _want_ from me?”

 _Do not snap back at him. Do_ not _snap back at him_.

Gladio had to take a moment to take a deep breath and not let his mood get the best of him. He had also sworn to Ignis to not be a jerk, and he was already kind of failing that by being a sarcastic asshole. Snapping would just make things worse.

“Alright, I’m sorry about that,” Gladio admitted even if it pained him, “I was frustrated. Do you have any idea how damned annoying it is to see you just isolate yourself like that? We’re here to protect you, Noct, but we can hardly protect you from yourself. And it pisses me off. Iggy starts doting to cope with it, and I get angry. We’re all on edge.”

“Sorry,” Noctis murmured. He briefly looked over at Gladio before looking away again, “Didn’t mean to make you guys feel bad, too.”

“We can handle it, but it’s way better if you actually talk to us,” Gladio shrugged and sighed heavily, studying Noctis’ face for a while. He really looked tired, “Wanna talk about it?”

“No offense but I really don’t,” Noctis bit his lip, “I already talked a bit to Prompto about it… and I just… I can’t do it again. Not now. I feel okay for now. I was even thinking of calling Dad but he’s probably busy…”

“Call him,” Gladio said, “Do it. Regis would never decline a call from you. He’d be thrilled.”

“I was hoping that maybe I could see him,” Noctis quietly said, “I cancelled last time. And I… uh, well I feel like a bit of a dick now.”

“Just call him up, the man would move mountains to get to spend some time with you,” Gladio smirked, “He’s worrying a lot, would probably calm down if he got to actually see you, you know?”

After a while of what Gladio assumed was silent contemplation, Noctis stood up and nodded, his phone in hand.

“I… I’m going to call him.”

 

* * *

 

Regis sighed as he stared at his emails. Cor had just sent him an extensive report that proved to be more boring than anything, yet Regis _knew_ he had to read it. Of course he could have requested Cor’s presence and have him verbally report, but that almost seemed even more boring, and that would leave him with no time to take a breather. And Cor had more important things to do. Bless the man, Regis wasn’t sure what he’d do if he didn’t have someone like him in charge of keeping track of the activity within their family (and outside).

But that didn’t make it less boring reading the report, and as his phone started buzzing he thought of it as a bit of a saving grace. His eyes widened as he saw the name on the screen.

Noctis. Noctis was calling him. It made him feel both joy, but also fear that something had happened since he rarely called. He quickly accepted the call, his heart hammering away in his chest.

“Noctis, it’s been a while,” he said and leaned back in his chair, trying to remain calm, “Are you doing well, son?”

_“Hi, Dad… uh, sorry for not calling in a while. And for cancelling on you last time…”_

“No need to worry about that,” Regis said, voice soft and relieved upon hearing that Noctis at least sounded somewhat okay. He had missed hearing his voice, “I’m sorry, too, I haven't been the greatest father lately.”

_“It’s fine, I know you’re busy… and I’m adult. I can look after myself.”_

Regis took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Busy was putting it lightly, and it made him feel tremendously guilty. If there was one thing Regis was ashamed of, it was the amount of times he had broken promises to Noctis, and how many times he had seen the look of disappointment on Noctis’ face. Yet his son had never acted out about it, or hardly even complained.

That made him feel even worse. If Noctis had gotten angry, it would have felt deserved. Instead he had just accepted the fact that Regis was a busy man, spending time with his caretakers instead.

_“I was wondering if maybe… I don’t know, if we could see each other sometime soon? I miss you.”_

“I miss you too,” Regis murmured, “And of course. I could… I could even fit it in today? I have a meeting around 5, but I should be free around 6. Would that work? Or is it too short notice? I can send over Cor to pick you up or -,”

_“I can have Gladio drive me, he’s here anyway. I think he wanted to see Ignis, he’s there, right?”_

“Well, I did see him earlier…” Regis mused, “He was discussing something with Cor. I am not sure he’s still here, but I’d love to have you over for tea tonight. I feel as if we have a lot of catching up to do.”

_“Yeah… well, I’ll let you go back to preparing for that meeting, and uh… I’ll meet you around 6?”_

“You can wait in my office, you know you’ll be let in,” Regis said with a nod and stared at the report on his computer once more. He could get through a bit more of it before the meeting, “Take care.”

_“You too, see you soon.”_

With that Noctis hung up and Regis sighed, putting his phone down again. At least he had something to look forward to later.

 

* * *

 

“Can I drive?”

Gladio raised an eyebrow as he and Noctis headed up towards the Regalia.

“You… want to drive?”

“Yeah,” Noctis shrugged, “I haven't driven in forever. Need to make sure I don’t forget how, right?”

Gladio laughed but he did throw Noctis the keys to the Regalia and then headed over to the passenger side as Noctis unlocked the car and got in.

Noctis grimaced as he sat down, realizing that the seat was too far away from the pedals, and he’d have to readjust the rear-view mirror. Maybe he should have insisted on taking his own car since it was adjusted for _him_ , but he actually liked the Regalia more. Probably because it once had belonged to his dad, and Noctis still had many fond memories of going on rides with his father. The car was a bit of a safe space for him, maybe that was why Regis more or less had handed it over to Ignis and Gladio to use to drive Noctis around.

“Your legs are too long,” Noctis complained as he readjusted the seat, “Like, how is it even possible?”

Gladio rolled his eyes as he put his seat belt on, something he usually ignored but part of him did fear Noctis’ driving. If it could put fear in Ignis, then anyone should be afraid. At least Gladio had been spared from teaching Noctis to drive, that had all been on Ignis, and according to him it had been a nightmare.

“You know, Iggy is also taller than you. You’re just a squirt.”

“Funny,” Noctis muttered as he put his feet against the pedals, getting a feel of it, “Okay. Think that’s good enough…”

Gladio tensed up a bit as Noctis started the car and drove out on the road. At least there weren’t a lot of traffic, less chance of colliding with someone.

“You should take your boyfriend on a ride sometime, bet he’d enjoy it.”

“And have you guys sit in the backseat? I don’t think so.”

“You do have another car, Noct, we’d simply trail you.”

“How nice,” Noctis dryly said, “That’s surely romantic, being watched by the two of you.”

“Iggy knows?”

Noctis shook his head as he took a left turn. He noticed that Gladio looked a bit surprised, probably because it wasn’t the nearest path. But Noctis really wanted to go by the water again, it was soothing even if he hardly could look at it since he had to concentrate on the road.

“As said, it happened just a couple of days ago.”

“Well, Iggy has been around every damned day, right?”

“Yeah, well, it’s not as if Prompto and I have been parading around in the apartment with banners saying that we’re together,” Noctis rolled his eyes, “You only know because you walked in as I was saying bye to Prompto.”

“Gonna tell your dad?” Gladio asked after a while.

Noctis tensed up and shrugged. He really didn’t know.

Part of him wanted to be honest with his father and tell him just how important Prompto was to him, but another part of him was scared.

A lot of people expected Noctis to one day take over and lead the family, even if Regis had assured him that he didn’t have to. But only the closest people of Regis and Noctis knew that since it surely would create turmoil if everyone knew that Regis' only heir didn’t want to take over.

And maybe Regis expected Noctis to change his mind and actually do take over one day? It was a tradition, the leader role had been passed down through generations of their family, from parent to child. Most people probably expected Noctis to marry soon and get more involved before getting children of his own.

No one ever mentioned it, but Noctis was fairly sure that people were talking about the fact that he never attended meetings or such at the estate. He had seen the looks people had given him when he visited these days. It had been better when he still lived at home, at least they seemed to think he showed an interest back then. Which he absolutely hadn’t, so there wasn’t much of a difference.

“You know, he’s not gonna reject you just because you’ve got a boyfriend.”

“So you’d have no issues telling _your_ dad about you being gay?”

“I’m _not_ gay -,”

“Of course not, your huge gay crush on Ignis is totally not gay,” Noctis smirked and quickly glanced to the side, seeing Gladio glare daggers back at him, “100% straight.”

“There’s something called _bisexual_ , Noct,” Gladio snapped. After a while he sighed and crossed his arms, staring out, “Besides, it’s not as if that’s going to be a thing anyway.”

“Huh, never asked how your date went,” Noctis pointed out after a while. He had been so caught up in his own shit that he hadn’t thought about what was happening around him.

“What do you think?”

“Let me guess, he still doesn’t get it?” Noctis snorted upon hearing Gladio groan, “Figures. Just spit it out. Specs likes you.”

“I told him I like him. You wanna know what he told me?” Gladio asked and Noctis nodded, “He told me that he also liked me, and that he was happy to have found such a good _friend_ within the family.”

Noctis made a brief grimace upon hearing that. He could only imagine how much that must have stung.

“Wow. That’s... uh, that sucks,” he said honestly after a while, “You probably have to spell it out to him, Gladio. The way he looks at you when you’re not looking at him… there must be something there.”

“Can’t believe I’m taking advice from a brat,” Gladio muttered, “You’ve been in a relationship for what? Three days? You’re some kind of love guru now?”

Noctis wanted to reach out and swat Gladio, but he just settled with rolling his eyes and sighing so he could keep his hands on the steering wheel. They spent the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence, and despite the detour by the lake it didn’t take them long to reach the headquarters of the family, also the same estate in which Regis lived in.

The gates opened up the moment Noctis’ rolled down the window to show his face.

“Ready to meet your old man?”

Noctis sighed as he drove in, “Don’t know about that, but here I am.”

 

* * *

 

Noctis smiled softly as he slipped into his father’s office. Regis was bent over his desk, staring at the computer screen with what looked like one of the most bored expressions that Noctis had ever seen on his face. Whatever he was reading, it wasn’t entertaining, that was for sure.

“You look as if you’re having fun,” Noctis said lightly as he took a step forward, making his presence known to Regis who almost jumped out of his chair, “Hey, Dad.”

Regis let out a laugh and put a hand over his chest, “Are you trying to give your old man a heart attack?” 

“Nah, just checking how observant you are,” Noctis smiled as he kept approaching, and he more or less walked right into his father’s arms as he got up from his chair, “Hey, missed you.”

“And I missed you,” Regis sighed heavily and carded his fingers through Noctis’ hair, and for once Noctis didn’t complain about his hair getting messed up. He could allow that after such a long time, “Gods, it feels as if I haven’t seen you for ages…”

“Yeah, sorry about cancelling last time,” Noctis said awkwardly, “I wasn’t feeling too hot.”

“That’s alright,” Regis softly said and let go of Noctis, smiling a bit at him, “So, what do you say about having some tea?” 

“Don’t you have to finish reading whatever you were reading?”

“Son, I’ll take any excuse to not have to read more of Cor’s godforsaken reports for a while,” Regis said tiredly as he put a hand against Noctis’ back, pushing him towards the door, “That man has an eye for detail. Maybe too many details.”

“How far have you gotten?” Noctis asked as he let his father lead them out, knowing that they were heading towards Regis’ own room and personal study. Noctis hadn’t been home for a long time, but obviously he still knew the rooms. At least of Regis’ private quarters. There were many other parts of the estate that he wasn’t too familiar with.

“Page 27 out of 74, I believe,” Regis chuckled, “May the gods have mercy on me if I haven’t finished by tomorrow, because Cor will most certainly not. But that is what I have Clarus for.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind, making both Regis and Noctis look back, coming face to face with Clarus.

“I see, so my duty nowadays comes down to putting my life on the line to spare you from Cor the Immortal’s wrath?” Clarus asked, a very unimpressed look on his face, “I’ll gladly die for such a noble cause.”

“Good,” Regis smirked, “I knew you’d never let me down.”

“Of course not, I live to serve,” Clarus snorted and then looked over at Noctis, bowing his head a bit in respect, “Noctis. It’s a pleasure to see you after so long.”

“You too, Clarus,” Noctis said, smiling, “Gladio’s here if you wanna see him. Think he’s looking for Specs.”

“Well I’m quite sure Ignis left just a while ago,” Clarus murmured before looking over at Regis again, “May I take my leave? I have some things I’d like to discuss with my son.”

“Of course,” Regis said, “I want some time in private with Noctis. Go find Gladio.” 

With that they walked the rest of the way to Regis’ study, sitting down by a small table. It was way cozier than sitting in the dining room. It always felt as if there was too much space between them while they were there, so Noctis preferred the study. It also felt a bit more homely since they were surrounded by Regis' personal things.

“I got concerned last time I spoke to Ignis and Gladio… even more so when you cancelled on me,” Regis said softly as he grabbed the tea pot that obviously had been prepared for Noctis’ arrival, “How are you doing? And please don’t say fine, not unless you really mean it. I can tell when you’re lying, I’d rather you’re honest but tell me you don’t want to talk about it.”

Noctis opened his mouth but soon closed it and looked down at the cup his father was pouring tea into. A teabag and a couple of cubes of sugar was already in it, instantly coloring the water.

“I… haven’t been doing too well,” Noctis admitted, feeling his mouth go dry so he instantly grabbed the cup and stirred, taking a sip despite it being scalding hot, “I guess kinda bad would be the honest answer.”

“Noctis -,”

“Not now though,” Noctis quickly added and looked into Regis’ eyes. It hurt seeing him look so concerned, “I’m… I’m still not in a good place, I guess, but I’m fine. I’m _okay_. I must have been driving Ignis crazy lately, though. He’s been really worried, and he’s tried so hard to get me out of my room, to get me to talk and… well, he’s spent a ridiculous amount of time with me that I’m pretty sure has been his free time. But I’m better now, because I… I’ve got some help.”

“May I ask… why you’ve been doing badly?” Regis cautiously asked, as if he was afraid of making Noctis shut him out.

Noctis shrugged and sighed. Part of him wanted to brush it off and tell Regis that it was nothing more than stupid teenage problems, but at the same time he really wanted to connect with his father again, and lying would only leave an awkward tension in the air since Regis had a way of knowing when Noctis was lying.

“I don’t know, I honestly really don’t know… I guess I felt as if nothing was looking up for me?” Noctis admitted after a while, “I felt isolated and then I did the opposite of trying to fix it. So I locked myself in and things just felt really hopeless, and I was so tired. In the end it was Prompto who managed to turn things around.”

“Prompto?” Regis repeated, a confused look on his face, “Is that the boy Ignis mentioned you had gotten to know?”

“Yeah,” Noctis nodded and smiled. The mere thought of Prompto was enough to make him feel more at ease, “We ran into each other by mistake and just clicked. We’ve got several things in common, so we hang out a lot.”

“You know that I want a background check done on him, right?”

“Ignis already did that,” Noctis sighed heavily, “Dad… I swear, he couldn’t harm a fly if he tried to.”

“Noctis, it’s because I _care_ ,” Regis insisted, but relaxed a bit since he knew Ignis would have told him if there was something strange about Prompto, “I’ve heard that the young man spends quite a lot of time with you…”

Noctis could just not have mentioned their relationship. There was absolutely nothing that required him to say that he was _together_ with Prompto, especially not since there only had been a couple of days. But since he always had bodyguards around him, it was hard to be discrete, and if one of them saw Noctis kissing Prompto they could possibly tell Regis. Not everyone was as respectful of Noctis’ privacy as Gladio and Ignis were.

“That’s because I'm together with him.”

The words were out before Noctis could stop himself, and the moment he had spoken, he felt terrified. He was the son of Regis Lucis Caelum, the most powerful yakuza boss in the country, in control over at least 50000 members in total. And he had just tumbled out of the closet, making it known to Regis that his only heir was gay.

“Excuse me?”

Noctis couldn’t look at his father, so he turned away, wrapping his arms around himself as if that would offer him some kind of protection. He couldn’t help feeling tears well up in his eyes, suddenly feeling very exposed.

“I met him while heading home from the library one day,” Noctis said quietly, “I walked right into him and both of us dropped our stuff. He helped me collect everything and I don’t know… he was just really friendly? We grabbed a coffee and… from there on we started hanging out. And along the road I kind of just… I fell in love.”

“Noctis.”

“I didn’t mean to, it just... things happened and-,” Noctis started rambling, feeling tears run down his cheek but he quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand. He felt embarrassed about how easily his walls could crumble, “I know it’s against tradition, that I should find a girl a-and… but I… I’m sorry.”

“Noctis, look at me,” Regis said, his voice firm, yet it didn’t seem to hold any anger, “Please.”

After taking a deep breath he did turn to look at Regis, who was getting up from his armchair, heading up to Noctis and sitting down next to him on the couch.

“Don’t apologize,” he said seriously and put a hand on Noctis’ leg, “I never want you to apologize for your own feelings, Noctis. I… I did not expect you to get together with another man, but I am not against it. You are my son, and I love you no matter what.”

“You… don’t care that I’m dating a guy?” Noctis asked, eyes wide, “But… it’s…”

“It’s the 21st century,” Regis said with a small smile on his face before pulling Noctis into a hug, “That my son happens to be gay… or bisexual? Whatever it is, it is not the end of the world, Noctis.”

Noctis let out a shaky breath of relief as he wrapped his own arms around Regis and put his head against his shoulder. It felt as if all energy had been sucked out of him

“I do however wish to meet this man,” Regis said after a while as they parted, “I want to know that he’s good for you.”

“Uh, can that wait for a while?” Noctis grimaced. He still had to deal with the entire fiasco of making Prompto believe that he was related to Gladio, “It’s still kind of early.”

“Well, I guess it can wait,” Regis sighed before taking a moment to study Noctis' face carefully, “But I need to know if he's making you happy?”

The question caught Noctis a bit off-guard and he stared at Regis for a while, thinking about Prompto. Just imagining his face and excitement made Noctis smile and nod. There was no doubt about it.

“Happier than I’ve been for a long time,” he said softly, “He’s… great. It’s like, he sees me? I mean, you know that I’m good at keeping my emotions in check but he… he sees right through me and can just…” 

Noctis realized he couldn’t even explain what was so amazing with Prompto. There weren’t words great enough to do him justice.

“I can’t even express it properly, but I know that he’s one of few things I look forward to every day.”

“You have no idea how happy I am for you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m happy that you’ve found someone who can so effortlessly make you feel better,” Regis said, a warm smile on his face but there was also a certain sadness in his eyes, “I’m however feeling as if I’ve failed as a parent. Gods, if your mother still was around… she would have been furious since I’ve been so distant.”

“I… I hardly remember her.”

It was true. Aulea Lucis Caelum had passed away when Noctis was only a toddler. All he had of her were photos, and sometimes he had dreams of a woman singing to him, resembling Aulea. He wasn’t sure if it was distant memories, or something his mind had fabricated to offer him some comfort. He wished had had known her, because Regis always spoke very fondly of her. Regis had said that Aulea had been the only woman for him, which was why he never had remarried despite people around him encouraging him to take a new wife.

“Wait a moment…” Regis said thoughtfully as he got up and headed over to his desk, unlocking the top drawer and picking something up before returning to the couch.

“This… this was hers,” Regis said softly as he held out a ring towards Noctis, “I gave it to her once upon a time. But I want you to have it. I think she’d like that, instead of me holding on to it out of nostalgia. I have the memories… you do not have as much as I do.”

Noctis opened his mouth as he gently grabbed the ring. It was pretty, elegant yet quite simple in a way. It was plated with gold on the inside, while the outside of the band was black. On the front there was some kind of crest, with something that looked like a crystal in the middle. Noctis instantly liked it.

Without thinking much he tried slipping onto his right middle finger, not expecting it to fit considering it wasn't made for him. But it did perfectly fit.

Noctis knew it was silly, since he didn’t even remember his mother, but wearing her ring like that made him feel like there was something that tied them together. And it was touching that his father was willing to give that up for him to have something of hers.

“You remind me so much of her,” Regis sighed softly, “A lot about your appearance comes from her. The two of you share many similarities… your eyes, the nose… you certainly are your mother’s son.”

“And not yours?” Noctis said jokingly as he twisted the ring around on his finger a bit.

“Oh most certainly mine, too,” Regis chuckled, “Gods know you got that stubbornness from someone. And the abhorrence of vegetables.”

Noctis raised an eyebrow, “But you always ate your vegetables.”

“To set a good example for you,” Regis admitted and chuckled, “Which seems to have been all for naught.”

Noctis rolled his eyes but then looked down at his hand again and smiled softly.

“Thanks, Dad… I’ll take good care of it.”

“I’m sure you will… but now…” Regis trailed off and smiled widely, “Tell me more about this Prompto. I want to know more about the man who managed to whisk my son off of his feet. And if I have to scare him into not breaking your heart.”

Noctis groaned and leant back in his chair. It was going to be a long story, but having his father’s acceptance and interest made him feel lighter than he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more thanks for your patience, I know I told some people that I thought I'd have an update out LAST weekend, but as said; I just wasn't happy with the chapter and I don't want to upload something I'm not happy with. But I'm happy with how it turned out in the end, so hope you enjoyed it too!  
> (Also, yes, the ring Noctis got is basically the ring of the Lucii, haha).
> 
> Thanks a lot for all of the support, kudos and comments. You're truly encouraging me and after each chapter I still can't get over that you guys like this story. You keep making me go all emotional!  
> And as always, thanks to my girlfriend for being the best and beta reading for me, and for always being there to discuss the story!
> 
> And a last note... for those of you who have been wondering about when the warnings and angst kick in, you might be happy to know that some shit will hit the fan in about two chapters (I will add tags and warn for content that might be disturbing).


	8. The devoted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And heeere comes chapter 8! Got it done sooner than I thought I would! Also, from now on I'm probably going to add chapter warnings in the notes before each chapter, in case there is something to warn about!
> 
> Chapter warnings: Some sexual content in this one! (No rape/non con, I'll specify if it comes down to that)

Noctis' relationship with Regis had significantly improved ever since he had decided to finally get a grip and visit him. A couple of weeks had passed, and they had managed to see each other two more times since then, attempting to make some kind of tradition for them on Sundays, where they’d at least try to sit down and just catch up. Sometimes they only had about thirty minutes, sometimes they managed several hours before Regis’ duties caught up to him.

In fact, most aspects of Noctis’ life had managed to improve since that talk, and he owed it all to Prompto for being the one who had managed to dismantle Noctis’ carefully put together walls. Prompto had found the cracks and worked his way in, something not a lot of people had managed to do before him.

Noctis was back to going to school, and he had even dropped out of a couple of courses, instead focusing on the ones he still found interesting. After talking a bit to his teachers, and Ignis, Noctis had managed to set up a study plan. And with Prompto being there to remind him, he did get some work done regularly. He probably wouldn't get top grades, but he’d definitely pass if he put a bit of effort into things. 

His relationship with Ignis and Gladio had also improved since he didn’t spend quite as much time locked in his room, overlooking when Prompto was over and they’d be curled up cuddling or making out on his bed. Which happened to be quite often since Noctis simply couldn’t get enough of Prompto, and Prompto seemed to share the sentiment.

“Noct,” Prompto groaned, feeling Noctis place an open mouthed kiss against his neck, “You’re really… _really_ turning me on right now, just getting it out there.”

Noctis smirked against Prompto’s neck and hooked a leg around Prompto to be able to easier press his hips forward, grinding against Prompto’s leg, making it obvious that he wasn’t the only one aroused.

“O-oh. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

“Smartass,” Noctis murmured but he shifted a bit and wrapped an arm around Prompto as well, pressing himself as close as he could, “We can stop if you’d like. It’d… it’d be okay.”

Noctis gasped as Prompto suddenly moved. At first he thought that Prompto was going to shove him away and get off of the bed to escape the situation, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead Prompto had pressed his own body against Noctis, more or less forcing him onto his back, pinning him down onto the bed.

“Are you kidding me?” Prompto huffed before he lowered himself on top of Noctis and kissed him, afterwards biting Noctis' lower lip teasingly, “Does it _feel_ as if I wanna stop? I told you to give _you_ a chance to back out before things would get awkward.”

Noctis’ breath hitched as Prompto thrust his hips forward. He could feel how hard Prompto was even through their pants, and the friction made him raise his own hips to grind back against him. But Prompto put a hand against Noctis' hips, pressing him down firmly.

“Didn’t know you could be this bossy,” Noctis shuddered and kissed Prompto, “I like it.”

“You’ve seen nothing yet,” Prompto said with a grin on his face as his hand trailed down towards Noctis’ pants. He looked into Noctis’ eyes as if asking for permission, and Noctis quickly nodded. He was feeling more than ready right now. 

Prompto had just slipped his hand into Noctis’ pants, palming his hard cock through his underwear, when the door to Noctis’ room suddenly opened without any warning.

“Noct, I’m only to inform you that… oh.”

In the doorway, Ignis was standing with a blank look on his face. He was clearly taking some time to process the scene he had walked in on.

It wasn’t really possible to talk their way out of it, Noctis realized. How could you even begin to make up excuses when one had their hand down the other person’s pants? 

“Uh…”

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Ignis quickly said and cleared his throat, politely looking away, “I was only to inform you that I’m leaving to do some grocery shopping for you. I was going to ask if you wanted to join me, but since you two are currently preoccupied I will take care of it on my own.”

“Y-yeah, thanks,” Noctis swallowed and nodded.

The seconds ticking past as Ignis nodded felt like an eternity. And then finally he closed the door.

Prompto’s hand was still in Noctis’ pants, but the mood was most definitely gone.

“Well… uh…” Prompto began and awkwardly laughed, “I guess it was only a matter of time before he found out as well, r-right?”

Noctis groaned and draped an arm across his face. To say that he felt embarrassed was an understatement. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to look Ignis in the eyes for quite some time.

“Why didn’t I lock the door?”

“Hey, look on the bright side, at least it wasn’t Gladio! Like, that would have been _really_ embarrassing! At least you and Ignis aren’t related,” Prompto chuckled as he pulled his hand out of Noctis’ pants and then rolled off of him, “And it’s Iggy… I bet he’s too polite to make fun of us… right?”

“Yeah…” Noctis grumbled and pouted as Prompto pulled his arm away from his face, “What?”

“You’re really cute when you blush.”

“Screw you.”

Prompto laughed and sat up again, looking down at Noctis, “I think that was kind of what we were getting into until Ignis walked in, and I’m not sure about you but that was kind of a -,”

“Instant cockblock?” 

“Yup.”

“Gods, I’m not sure I’ll be able to look him in the eyes again,” Noctis complained, “How am I going to go on with my life when I know he saw _that_?”

“Maybe he didn’t see my hand in your pants?” Prompto offered with a sheepish smile on his face

“Even if he didn’t, it was pretty obvious what we were up to,” Noctis gave Prompto a pointed look, “We were literally _grinding_ on each other, Prompto.”

“Could have been worse though,” Prompto grinned, “Better that he walked in early, right? Instead of us being like… naked. Or me holding your dick in my hand. At least he couldn’t see any private parts!”

Noctis sighed and rolled his eyes. Prompto was right, he was making a big deal out of it. And it really was his own fault for not locking the door. Then again you’d think people would knock before entering, but both Ignis and Gladio had become a lot more relaxed about that, more often than not letting themselves into the apartment without knocking. Which was fine with Noctis, if he wanted privacy he’d just text them before they’d turn up.

And he usually locked the door when he wanted to be alone, so not locking it while they were making out had been a mistake.

After a while Noctis turned his head to the side and he looked at Prompto, eyes trailing over his face. He never got tired of looking at him, and all those freckles. He would have attempted to count them but there were simply too many of them. Prompto still looked a bit flushed as well, Noctis wasn’t sure if it was from the embarrassment of getting walked in on or if it was because they had gotten quite hot and bothered. Perhaps both.

Prompto glanced over at Noctis after a while, seemingly having noticed that he was being watched.

“Whatcha looking at?”

“You,” Noctis smiled a bit, “I like you.”

“You’re only saying that because you were _this_ close to receiving the best handjob of your life.”

Prompto winked and Noctis instantly flushed, it sounded as if Prompto thought that Noctis had been with others before, which definitely wasn’t the case. Some girls (and a guy or two) had _tried_ to approach Noctis, but he hadn’t been interested. Not like that. He was awkward enough around people just trying to be friendly, when they flirted he went completely blank and he had on more than one occasion just turned around and walked away.

“Prompto... Have you done it with someone before?” Noctis asked after a while, nibbling on his lip.

They had never really talked about sex, or even suggested to have sex. They did frequently cuddle and make out, but today was the first day they had gone into the sexual territory and it had just kind of happened naturally as the two of them both had gotten _really_ into feeling each other up.

“Uh… are you talking the full sex or...?”

Noctis put a hand over his mouth to suppress a giggle, “The full sex? Really?”

“Shut up, you know what I mean!” Prompto playfully shoved Noctis, _almost_ making him tumble down the bed. But Prompto grabbed him and pulled him back before it could happen, “Geez, Noct." 

“Well, I don’t know… just, anything?” Noctis asked after a while, “Have you had sex? Or… done other things, like what we were about to get into? Any experiences at all?” 

“I’ve done it with a girl I dated a year back,” Prompto said after a while of silent contemplation as he stared up into the ceiling, “We… we were classmates, but things didn’t really work out between us. Like, we hardly had anything in common so we just… we basically made out and had sex a couple of times and then we broke up because a relationship gotta be something more, you know? Other than that I’ve given and received a couple of handies and, uh, a blowjob. But that’s about it. What about you, pretty boy?”

“Nothing,” Noctis admitted, “At all.”

Prompto’s eyes widened a bit as he looked at Noctis, only making Noctis feel more embarrassed.

“What? That surprised that I’m a virgin?,” Noctis asked, “You know I’m not good with people.” 

“With your looks you wouldn't _have_ to be good with people to get them into bed with you,” Prompto waggled his eyebrows, but after a while he looked a bit more serious, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that, you know. The entire thing about virginity is overrated anyway. Who cares if you’ve done it or not?”

“I just… I never really felt sexual attraction towards anyone before you,” Noctis said with a shrug, “Like, I’ve had some people come onto me but it just made me feel uncomfortable. Most of them didn’t even know me.”

“You know, if you don’t want to do things like that, then that’s okay?” Prompto said softly, carefully studying Noctis’ face, “Like, I don’t expect you to put out or something. I got together with you for _you_ , not to get into your pants.”

Noctis flushed again and huffed.

“Prompto, we literally had the discussion before you stuck your hand into my pants. I said I was fine with it, you said you were fine with it.”

“Just want to make sure,” Prompto smiled softly and reached out to pull Noctis into a hug, “But cuddles for now.“

Ignis came back to the apartment in just about 30 minutes, and at that point they had actually managed to dare venture out into the living room again, even if Noctis had complained about still feeling embarrassed. Prompto had convinced him by telling him that he’d have to look at Ignis again sooner or later. Better get it over with right away.

As Ignis entered with two bags of groceries he threw a glance at them. Noctis looked up and met his gaze briefly, before hastily looking away. His face was already heating up. Ignis was silently heading over to the kitchen-part of the room, starting to unpack the groceries.

“So,” Ignis began after a while, “It’s getting quite late and perhaps the two of you would like some privacy? I did buy you some simple things to prepare if you get hungry, and… I also got some more things that I figured you might want to have around if Prompto’s staying for the weekend?”

Prompto looked up and nodded before glancing over at Noctis, “U-uh, yeah, I think?”

“I suspected so,” Ignis said and smiled a bit as he approached the couch, dropping a plastic bag into Noctis’ lap, “No need to thank me. I’ll be on my way, I do need to pick up Gladio and speak to him a bit.”

“Uh, okay?” Noctis said and looked down at the plastic bag in his lap. At a glance he noticed that it contained some of his favorite snacks, so that was nice.

Perhaps Ignis was trying to offer a silent apology for walking in without knocking.

As Ignis headed towards the hallway he came to a stop and looked back a final time and smiled again.

“Congrats, by the way,” he lightly said, “I’m glad for the two of you.”

“That’s… thanks, Specs,” Noctis said awkwardly and waved before turning the plastic bag upside down to get a better look at what Ignis had bought them.

“Score, those are mine!” Prompto said once he noticed a snack he wanted, gripping for it and Noctis just rolled his eyes as he let the other snatch it. After all he knew that Prompto would end up sharing, “What more did he get?”

“Let’s… oh…”

Noctis’ eyes widened as he grabbed a package of condoms and a bottle of what seemed to be lubrication. He looked up, a bewildered look on his face, but Ignis was already in the hallway, out of sight.

“Ignis! What the hell?!”

“Have a nice evening, and be safe!” was the last thing Noctis heard from Ignis before he heard the sound of the door opening and closing.

“Oh my Gods.”

“Well,” Prompto said after a long while, staring at Noctis’ hands, “I mean… he _cares_?”

Noctis dropped the objects and covered his face with his hands. If he had felt embarrassed before it was nothing compared to how he felt now.

“This is the worst day of my life.”

Prompto laughed, “Hey, it’s good to be prepared, right? At least you have the stuff at home now. Saves _you_ the trouble of having to walk out and buy condoms and lube!” 

Noctis looked at Prompto through his fingers, sending quite the murderous glare at him.

“I’d rather buy that stuff for myself than have _Ignis_ buying it for me!”

“Oh come on, don’t be such a baby,” Prompto chuckled and grabbed Noctis’ hands, gently removing them from his face so he could place a soft kiss on his heated cheek, “I bet he's literally just worried about your health, and didn't mean to embarrass you.”

“Ugh… I guess.”

“Now, let’s dig into these snacks. I’m _starving_!”

Noctis sighed heavily as he put the condoms and the lube back into the plastic bag before dropping it onto the floor. He really didn’t need to see those right now.

“Let’s watch a movie. I need to fill my mind with something that doesn’t involve Ignis and condoms” Noctis grumbled as he shuffled up next to Prompto, “You pick.”

Prompto just laughed as he wrapped an arm around Noctis and grabbed the remote with his free hand.

“As you wish.”

 

* * *

 

“Sir,” Cor said and bowed, “Troubling news.”

Regis sighed as he looked up at Cor. He was ever diligent in his work, and Regis could tell by the lines on his face that the troubling news were more than just minor.

“What is it?” Regis asked and then looked around himself, “And please sit down. Do you want something to drink? There’s sake. And tea.”

Cor shook his head but he did take a seat in front of Regis, the grim expression on his face still present.

“What is it?”

“The Niffs have moved beyond just burning down buildings of ours now,” he said, crossing his arms, “Drautos sent people to investigate, but...”

“They’ve not come back?” 

“They did,” Cor said and paused for a while, “In parts.”

Regis winced and sighed heavily. Even after all his years as the boss he still didn’t take well to the news of death within in the family. Especially not when it was related to Niflheim activity.

“How many?”

“Four men,” Cor said, “We’re still working on figuring out what the Niffs are trying to do. They have left no words of warning or threats, but I suspect the increase of violence suggests they are not about to back down.”

In their line of business casualties weren’t all that strange, but the circumstances were. The Niflheim syndicate had been a rivaling family for decades, but they had managed to stay somewhat peaceful. Perhaps because the Caelum family was a lot bigger, and if Regis wanted to he _could_ initiate a war.

But that would be risky, and a lot of people would end up hurt and/or dead. It was the last thing he wanted. He had been left quite a bloody legacy from the former bosses of the family, his parents and grandparents, but Regis wanted to do thing better than them.

Of course he wasn’t in denial over the things they did. He was sure that a lot of people had gotten their lives ruined because of their family, but some things were just impossible to escape. And Regis couldn’t keep track of all the clans of the family even if he tried.

“What do you suggest we do?”

“Personally I want to make them pay,” Cor said, his fingers digging into the armrests of his chair,  “But I know that isn’t realistic. Perhaps we ought to send _them_ a message.”

“Then we risk starting something as well,” Regis murmured, “Perhaps we ought to pull back for now. Inform Drautos that I do not wish him to send more people into the fray at this time. I’d rather we wait and see if they do something more.”

“Sir, with all due respect… but people are _dead_.”

“People that were sent out to investigate Niflheim, yes,” Regis confirmed and looked into Cor’s eyes, “Obviously they did not like that. So we shall not repeat the same mistake. Let us instead observe. I might have to contact their boss, if things escalate again.” 

“The new one?”

Regis nodded, “Izunia, wasn’t that his name?”

“Yes, since Aldercapt stepped back from old age,” Cor confirmed, “Tried to look up Izunia but there is not much to be found. He has no ties to Aldercapt, but apparently he’s been advising him the last couple of years and earned his trust.”

“These strange things started happening around the time he took over the reins…” Regis frowned, “Maybe he’s testing us?” 

“Possible,” Cor agreed.

Regis sighed heavily, “I do not like this. At least I knew what I was dealing with when Aldercapt was in charge. He was a slippery one, but quite simple to figure out. This Izunia is bad news.”

“I can’t do more than agree,” Cor said and shook his head.

He looked exhausted, Regis realized. And it wasn’t all that strange. Cor was a very busy man on the best of days since he was to keep his eyes open and make sure the family was working as it was supposed to do. Sure, he had people working underneath him, but it still didn’t take away the fact that he had to know about everything strange that was going on. 

Lately there hadn’t been a lot of those good days, instead the days were filled with a certain feeling of dread and everyone was on edge, wondering what Niflheim was up to. That meant Cor’s burden was even heavier now than ever.

“Cor, go home and get some rest,” Regis said softly after having studied the other’s face for a while, “You look as if you could use a proper night of sleep.”

“But there’s -,”

“What can we do now?” Regis asked before Cor could try and make a point of why he shouldn’t go sleep, “People have died, but we can’t exactly rush in or exact revenge. Not if we want to avoid starting something bigger. So go home and come back here tomorrow. We’ll talk more then, and I’ll have Clarus and Drautos join us. How… how many know about the deaths?”

“You, me, Clarus and Drautos,” Cor said, “I imagine some of those who used to work with the victims will figure out that something has happened, though.”

“Let’s keep this quiet for now,” Regis stated, “If it gets out, it could cause a panic. I want to know more before handling this, and I do _not_ have the energy to deal with the unrest that would spread if it were to get out.”

“Of course,” Cor nodded, “I’ll let Drautos know that it’s to be kept secret for now -,”

“No, you are to go home and get some rest. _I_ will let Titus know about this,” Regis looked at Cor, a determined look on his face, “That is an order.”

“If you say so,” Cor said stiffly as he pushed himself up from the chair, “Thank you.”

“With all the Niflheim activity you must be running on fumes,” Regis pointed out and rose up as well. He walked up to Cor and put a hand on his shoulder, “So I should be the one thanking you, Cor, I couldn’t do this without you. Never forget that you have my gratitude.”

“It is my pleasure to be of service,” Cor said and Regis could spot the brief smile that crossed his face, “Serving you and the family is all that matters to me.”

“And what matters most to me is that my closest circle is well rested and taken care of,” Regis chuckled, “Now go, sleep. I demand that you don’t sit up writing reports. We’ll save everything for the meeting tomorrow." 

“Thanks, and... goodnight.” 

Cor bowed his head in respect before turning around and leaving Regis in his office. Once Cor was out Regis sighed heavily and headed up towards the window, looking out into the night. He too was exhausted, but what kind of leader would he be if he just put everything on those around him? It was better that Cor got some rest, while Regis dealt with this.

“Regis.”

“Didn’t I tell you to go home to your daughter?” Regis asked but he smiled as he watched Clarus’ reflection in the window. He had hardly heard the other man enter, “Yet you’re still here. At least I managed to send Cor home.”

“I couldn’t possibly leave after the news of the deaths,” Clarus murmured and approached. He took place next to Regis, “And Iris is at a sleepover this weekend. It simply isn’t as much fun spending time with her old father these days.”

“Ah, youth,” Regis sighed but smiled. He knew how much Clarus loved his children, and even if he tried to make light of the subject he was sure he wished he could spend more time with his daughter, “Ah well. You still had my permission to head home and get some rest. It’s been quite stressful lately.”

“And leave you here during these circumstances?” Clarus scoffed. He almost looked offended, “I do not think so, Regis.”

“How many men are stationed around my quarters now? Was it 10? Oh wait, 15, am I right?” Regis asked, an amused smirk on his face, “Despite not wanting people around my private wing of the estate I let you do it to ease _your_ worries. I think I’m quite safe, Clarus, after all _you_ picked the men, did you not?”

“They are good, but I don’t trust anyone more than I trust myself,” Clarus admitted and Regis could feel his arm brush against his side, it made him feel warm inside, “Not when it comes to your safety.”

Regis turned to glance at Clarus. There was a frown on his face that often was there. They had known each other since they were teenagers, and even back then Clarus had frowned a lot. But Regis had his ways of making him ease up, and even if it could take a bit of work to make that frown go away, it was always worth seeing him free of worries.

“Are you staying, then?”

Clarus met his gaze and raised an eyebrow in a silent question and Regis nodded, holding out his hand towards Clarus who wordlessly took it into his own.

“If you’ll let me,” he murmured and raised Regis hand up to his lips, kissing it softly, “Please.”

“You know I could never send you away when you ask me like that,” Regis said softly and smiled, “And even if I did send you out, I doubt you’d leave the grounds.”

Clarus smirked and released Regis’ hand, “I have my ways.”

“Oh I know you do,” Regis sighed, “Now… you can go ahead if you’d like. I need to contact Titus about the murders, to make sure it stays between us for now.”

“I’d rather wait, if you don’t mind.”

“Be my guest,” Regis said and gestured to the chair in front of his desk, ”It won’t take too long.”

With that he headed over to his desk and grabbed his phone. He felt exhausted, but looking over at Clarus who instantly had picked up a book made him feel more at ease.

Regis was truly blessed, having such amazing people there for him to help him carry his burdens. He was not sure what he had done to deserve someone as devoted as Clarus in his life, but he was forever thankful for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I managed to sneak in a little moment between Regis and Clarus. I have my personal interpretation of them, but feel free to interpret it however you want to, that's why I've not added them as an additional ship in the tags. It's a background thing, anyway :) (Unless you guys really want it to be a certain way, haha, let me know).
> 
> ANYWAY. You better buckle up because things are going to happen soon.
> 
> Thanks for all of the amazing support! It's always great hearing from you guys, and I thiiink I managed to deliver this chapter a bit faster than last one! Once more I hope I'll be able to get next chapter out soon, too!  
> (And thanks to my girlfriend for being a great beta reader, this story seriously would have so many more flaws if it weren't for her!)


	9. The unspoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, I'm taking you all for a ride.

“Happy 2 month anniversary!”

 Noctis groaned as he twisted in the coach to lie on his back, allowing him to look up at Prompto who soon came into his view.

“Are we going to celebrate every month? Don’t people usually celebrate years?”

Prompto laughed as he held out a single red rose to Noctis who reluctantly accepted it. Even if he liked to complain about silly things like that, he did treasure every gift Prompto gave him. Especially since Noctis had assured Prompto there was no need to buy him things. If there was one thing Noctis never had to worry about, it was money. But Prompto was working on the side of school to make his own hard earned money.

_“You know, I appreciate it but you should really spend your money on something for yourself instead of me, Prompto.”_

_“Silly, getting you something and seeing your smile is for_ me _as much as it’s for you.”_

To say that Prompto was a romantic was an understatement. In the beginning it hadn’t been that obvious, maybe because they had kept their relationship in private, and Noctis had still struggled to try and get his life back on track. Now that his life was more stable, Prompto would do more things with him, like dragging him out of his apartment to go on dates, take him out for dinner, or just go out on walks, holding hands.

Maybe that was just normal couple things, now that Noctis thought about it. But for him it was romance overload, in a good way. He enjoyed being showed that kind of attention, and every moment with Prompto was a moment he felt at ease and happy.

“Every day with you is worth celebrating,” Prompto winked and Noctis grumbled, turning his face away as he sniffed the rose, “Was that too cheesy?”

“Definitely,” Noctis said but his lips quirked up in a smile.

“Hey, you’re blushing again,” Prompto teasingly said and sat down on the edge of the couch, “You _like_ it.”

“Shut up,” Noctis murmured but it held no bite whatsoever, instead he grabbed Prompto’s shirt and pulled him down for a kiss, “I will not admit to such accusations.”

Prompto chuckled and kissed Noctis again, smiling against his lips.

“Of course you won’t.”

With that Prompto got up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen despite Noctis’ noises of protest upon parting, but dinner wouldn’t cook itself and Ignis was out. 

“But even if you won’t admit it,” Prompto paused as he opened a cupboard, “In my heart, I know the truth.”

_Truth._

Noctis winced.

It was stupid, but every time that word came up he couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. He still hadn’t told Prompto about who he really was, and even if it didn’t really matter to their relationship, it was starting to feel really bad. And he had told Regis when he once more had insisted that he wanted to meet Prompto.

_“Dad… uh, he thinks I’m an Amicitia.”_

_“And how did he come to believe that?”_

_“It was back when we just were friends, uh, I told him about having a father in the yakuza, and he asked about my name and I panicked because I thought… well, everyone knows the Lucis Caelum name. So I blurted out Amicitia because it was the first thing I could think of.”_

_“Son… while that is a small white lie, you might want to consider coming clean about it soon. The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be. You do not want it to infect your relationship.”_

Of course Regis had been right. But it was hard to bring up, because he’d have to admit to having lied to Prompto.

“Hey… Prompto?” Noctis softly called after a while and Prompto hummed from the kitchen, looking over at Noctis, “Can we talk about something later?”

“Sure?” Prompto looked a bit confused, “But we can talk now, right?”

“No,” Noctis shook his head and smiled wearily, “Let’s save it for later, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Prompto looked a bit concerned, but if he was going to keep worrying he was good at hiding it because soon he was smiling again.

“You just want me to concentrate on cooking so I don’t burn the food, don’t you?”

“Ah yes, you’ve seen right through me,” Noctis rolled his eyes.

“Knew I was just a replacement for Iggy,” Prompto snorted, “What is he up to anyway? Feels as if both he and Gladio have been more out than in lately, which… well, that’s not normal, is it?”

Noctis shrugged and sighed, “Yeah, it’s a bit off. There’s been shit going on within the family so I guess they’re busy with that. And it’s not as if there aren’t others around here.”

“Also, I think they're trying to give us some space,” Noctis pointed out after a while, “Since we got together, you know?”

It was true. Since both Gladio and Ignis had found out about their relationship they had found themselves being left alone in the apartment more than usually. Of course they were still around a lot, but they kept out of sight.

And Noctis knew that the two of them had been busy going to a lot of meetings at the estate lately. Noctis wasn’t sure why that was the case, but something was going on in the family. He had debated with himself whether to ask about it or not, but he had decided not to. Yakuza business made his head hurt, and he wanted to stay as far away from that as possible.

Even Regis respected that when they met for their weekly catch up. They tried to keep it as ‘normal’ as possible, but the illusion was usually broken once someone would leave an urgent message, or Cor would show up and profusely apologize for having to whisk Regis away for something important. 

It left Noctis feeling a bit bitter, but he couldn’t be angry at any of them. He just had to accept how things were. He was used to it. His entire life had been like that, and at some point in childhood he had given up on trying to pull Regis away from his duties, simply accepting that other people needed him, too.

“Oh crap -,”

Noctis’ head snapped up and he looked over to Prompto, seeing the other curse over whatever it was he was trying to cook.

“You need any help?”

“I’ll ask you for help if I _want_ to set the kitchen on fire!” Prompto called back, “It’s cool, just some water boiling over.”

“You wound me,” Noctis said and put a hand over his chest, “I can cook.”

It was a blatant lie. Last time Noctis attempted to cook he had ruined the frying pan, even if Ignis had tried to suggest that it _maybe_ could be used again. But it really couldn’t.

“Cup noodles doesn’t count,” Prompto said in a sing-song voice, “Also, want to go to the cinema later? It’s on me.”

Noctis would have protested and said that he could pay for himself if it wasn’t for the fact that he _knew_ that Prompto was going to be stubborn and refuse to back down. So instead he sighed and shrugged. He’d have to take Prompto out some other day to make up for it.

“Sure, I just… just gotta tell Specs about it.”

“Ah right, so he can trail us?”

“Or set up someone else to do it,” Noctis muttered, “Sorry about that.”

“Nah, don’t be! I mean, safety first, right?”

“Right,” Noctis smiled as he picked up his phone. At least Prompto didn’t mind their constant presence.

Noctis was blessed with the most understanding boyfriend ever. Hopefully he'd understand why Noctis had lied about his last name, too.

 

* * *

 

Gladio sighed heavily as he and Ignis finally got out from their third meeting of the day. It had been a really damned long day, and he was sick of constantly hearing about Niflheim and their attempts at rousing them.

First they had been forced to sit through a big official meeting, involving a lot of people from the family. Many of which Gladio hardly could name since they were from various clans that didn’t work that close to Regis. He doubted even Ignis knew who most of them were. It wasn’t quite that ordinary for Regis to call for those big meetings and personally host them, but ever since the Niflheim activity had gotten more extreme, Regis hadn’t had a choice but to finally speak up about the problem. It was obvious that it wouldn’t be able to be contained within the inner circle for much longer, and it was better if they heard it from him.

After that meeting, he and Ignis had gone to a second meeting with Cor, Clarus and Drautos, speaking about various security efforts that had to be put in place. Not much was going to change in regards to Noctis, but Cor had wanted some more men stationed around Noctis’ apartment, just in case. And Gladio and Ignis got a say in which men to appoint to the task.

Finally, they had been invited in for a brief meeting with Regis, but that had been way more casual than the other two. It was obvious that he was tired, and he had simply asked them to keep doing their job, and to also take care of themselves and Noctis. They had been in and out of his study in just about ten minutes.

“Long day, huh?” Gladio pointed out after a while, throwing a glance at Ignis who was staring at his phone, apparently having gotten a text message.

“It certainly has been,” Ignis agreed as he sent an answer. Gladio hadn’t seen what the message was, but that it had been to Noctis, “Quite informative, too.”

“You could say that again,” Gladio groaned, “How’s your wrist holding up? Saw you take notes the entire day.”

“A bit sore,” Ignis snorted, “But I think I’ll live. There was an awful lot of new information about Niflheim.”

“Yeah,” Gladio said with a grimace on his face, “It’s ridiculous how much fucking trouble they’ve become lately.”

Ignis hummed in agreement as they started heading towards the exit.

“At least there have not been any more murders,” he said, looking over at Gladio, “I heard Ulric lost people he knew?”

“Yeah,” Gladio looked grim as he nodded, “And he was lucky not to have been sent out on that one. Apparently he and Crowe were investigating in another district.”

As the subject of the murders had been brought up at the first meeting, there had definitely been a tension in the air. They hadn’t dealt with a lot of deaths the past couple of years, and to have people sent back in parts was quite morbid, even for yakuza.

At one point people had almost started yelling at each other during the meeting, clearly not agreeing on how to handle the situation.

Gladio could definitely see both sides. Part of him wanted to make Niflheim pay, another part of him knew that it was foolish and could end up with even more deaths, and they did not need that. And that was the point Regis had made to make everyone settle down during the meeting. Silence had fallen the moment Regis had cleared his throat.

“So… you heading home?”

“No,” Ignis shook his head, “I just received a text from Noctis. He’s going out with Prompto in an hour. I’ll head after them.”

“You should just call in one of the other guys to do it,” Gladio frowned, “You’ve been here since what? 6 this morning? Now it’s 4, Iggy.” 

Ignis shrugged, “A couple of hours more work will be fine.”

“Regis told us to take care of ourselves, too, you know,” Gladio said dryly, “Not only Noct. When is the last time you did something for you?”

“I am under no obligation to tell you,” Ignis said. There was quite an edge to his voice and Gladio could tell that Ignis didn’t like where the talk was going, “What about you? What do _you_ do that is so fulfilling?”

“Me?” Gladio let out a sharp laugh, “I do plenty of things for myself!”

“Going out to find women to bed and then brag about your conquests doesn’t really count, Gladio,” Ignis snapped, “Going out drinking on your own in general isn’t exactly what I’d call a healthy habit even if it’s something you do for yourself.”

“First of all, I haven't gone out since last time we were out,” Gladio snapped back, “Secondly, before that it had been _months_ , too.”

“Is that why you’ve been so infuriating lately?” Ignis scoffed, “You have not gotten laid so you’ve decided to be an utter jerk to the people around you?”

“What the hell are you on about, that’s -,”

“It’s _always_ Ignis this, Ignis that,” Ignis sighed in exasperation, “It’s getting on my nerves. We’re both two adult men, and I hardly need you to tell me how to live my life. Why is it such a big deal to you?”

Gladio gritted his teeth and he had to force himself not to say something hurtful back.

“I just…” he trailed off and took a deep breath.

_I just care about you so damned much that I don’t know what the hell to do with myself._

“You…?” Ignis said after a while, staring at him, “You what?”

“I just think you gotta take care of yourself to be able to take care of Noctis,” he said after a while, not having the guts to tell Ignis the true reason yet. Judging by the look on Ignis’ face, he didn’t believe it.

“Is that all?”

“Something more, maybe,” Gladio tiredly said, “But I’ll tell you that another time. Not here.”

“If you say so…” Ignis murmured and glanced at Gladio briefly as they exited the building.

“Listen, Iggy…” Gladio began as the other headed towards the Regalia, very aware of the fact that he had managed to piss off Ignis and that there was a chance he wouldn’t even listen at this point, “Just… take care of yourself, alright?”

Ignis opened the car door and after what felt like forever he turned to face Gladio. He didn’t say anything, but after staring for a good half minute or so, he at least nodded before getting into the car.

Gladio sighed as he watched Ignis drive away. Maybe he’d manage to keep a civil conversation with Ignis one day. Without blowing up. He really did have a bit of a problem with his temper, and he wasn’t surprised that Ignis had gotten angry with him. But Ignis had said some mean things, too.

He sighed. After all, the reason why he had stopped going out was because he simply couldn’t do one-night stands any longer, because all he could think about what Ignis.

“Tomorrow,” Gladio muttered to himself, “Tomorrow I’m telling him.”

 

* * *

 

“Ah man, can’t even stay the night on our anniversary, huh?” Prompto sighed as he and Noctis came to a stop right outside his apartment building. He couldn't help smiling as he watched Noctis pout, “And hey, didn’t you want to talk about something?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Noctis said softly and took a step forward, placing his hands on Prompto’s shoulder and kissing him, “It’s kind of late now, though… and I'm seeing my dad around lunch tomorrow… do you have work then?”

Prompto shook his head as he wrapped his arms around Noctis, and it wasn’t long before Noctis felt a hand squeeze his ass through his pants.

“I don’t have work tomorrow,” Prompto murmured and pulled Noctis a bit closer to him, “How about we spend some quality time together after you meet your dad, huh? We can talk and… maybe do some other things.” 

“Sounds like you already have some plans,” Noctis grinned and teasingly pressed his hips forward even if he knew it was simply going to frustrate him in the end as well, “If you’re patient you’ll be rewarded tomorrow.”

“You can be here,” Prompto said and kissed Noctis’ jaw, “No one can walk in. It’ll be just the two of us. Alone. You should maybe bring those things Iggy got for you last time, huh?” 

Noctis flushed a bit but laughed. He had at least gotten over most of the embarrassment from the 'condom incident', as they called it, but they'd still hardly done anything since then. Except one night when the two of them had gotten a bit drunk and had ended up grinding on each other, still in their clothes, until Noctis came in his pants, and Prompto had followed shortly after.

“Maybe I will,” Noctis said and smiled weakly. He just hoped Prompto wouldn’t be too mad at him for lying about his name, “I gotta go now. _You_ were the one who told me to get some work on my essay done today.”

Prompto sighed heavily and took a step back from Noctis, creating some space between them but his hands still lingered on Noctis’ sides. 

“Yeah, sounds like me. Or Ignis,” Prompto chuckled, “Guess it’s the responsible thing to do. So, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Noctis nodded, “I’ll drive here. Can I stay over?”

“Of course!" 

“Good,” Noctis leaned in and kissed Prompto a final time, “See you tomorrow, and thanks for the date... even if the movie was crap.” 

“Anytime, babe,” Prompto said and finally let go of Noctis, “Drive safely!”

“You know I always do.”

“I think Ignis would disagree,” Prompto pointed out with a wink, “But I trust you. Now, get your ass in gear. Finish that essay, I expect you to be on for some King’s Knight later!” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis said and offered a final wave before stepping away, letting Prompto head back into his apartment building.

With a sigh Noctis headed back to his car and got in. A look in the rear view mirror let him see that the Regalia wasn’t too far away. Ignis had arrived just the moment Noctis had been about to give Prompto a ride back, first insisting that they all could take the Regalia, but Noctis had wanted the privacy, so Ignis was trailing behind. Which was fine, he was used to it.

He did however not see the huge need for the constant surveillance. There had been _one_ attempt to kidnap him once, back when he was 8. One attempt, no more (that he knew of, at least). But if there was someone who he preferred trailing him around, then it was Ignis, since he respected Noctis’ privacy more than anyone else. Which was weird considering the fact that Ignis also was the one person most involved in Noctis’ private life. Noctis wasn't sure how Ignis managed to do both at the same time, but he did.

The sun was about to set as Noctis drove home, and he chose to take a bit of a detour so he could take the road by the lake once more. The sunset made it look even more pretty. Sometime he’d have to take Prompto there. Maybe they could do some fishing, or have a picnic. He was sure Prompto at least would appreciate the photo opportunities.

Noctis was ripped from his thoughts as his phone starting buzzing. He threw a quick glance at it, seeing Ignis’ name on the display. With a sigh he pressed the answer button, followed by the speakers so he didn’t have to hold it as he drove. He wasn’t _that_ reckless, but he wondered why the hell Ignis would call him while driving. 

“What is it, Specs? We’re not that far away from -,”

_“We’re being followed.”_

“Huh?”

_“I thought it was coincidence at first but I’m fairly sure we’re being pursued. Change of plans, you are definitely not going back to your apartment.”_

“What?” Noctis frowned and looked in the rear view mirror.

He couldn’t see any cars behind him, not even the Regalia since Ignis usually tried to keep a moderate distance, and the road was a bit curved so he couldn’t see very much of it anyway.

_“Whoever it is who’s following, they must think you are in this car with me. So do me a favor and go to your father’s estate. I’ll try to shake-,”_

Ignis was cut off mid-sentence and Noctis could hear what sounded like a crash, followed by loud cursing coming from Ignis.

“Ignis? What the hell is going on? Ignis!”

_“By the Six, I can’t believe I’m going to tell_ you _this, but I need you to drive as fast as you can. You need to -,”_

Another crashing noise was heard and Noctis somewhere deep down knew that Ignis probably was about to be pried off of the road. It sounded really bad.

“Ignis? Ignis! What’s happening!?”

_“Noctis,_ go _.”_

Then the line went dead and he wasn’t sure if it was Ignis who had hung up, or if there was another reason. The smart thing would have been to listen to Ignis and get the hell out of there, but instead Noctis took a deep breath and turned his car around before flooring it. In less than a minute he came to see what had made the call stop. The Regalia had crashed into a lamp post, smoke coming out of the engine.

Ignis was stumbling out of the car, seemingly disoriented but he was holding his gun. A car was starting to drive towards him, and he fired several rounds as he stumbled backwards but the bullets did nothing more than crack the windows. It was clearly bulletproofed, just like the Regalia.

Noctis’ eyes widened. There was no way Ignis could get out of that alone.

Gods. Noctis knew that Ignis was going to hate him, but he simply couldn’t back down now. He gritted his teeth and slammed a foot down on the accelerator pedal, speeding forward into the car in time to get it away from heading straight towards Ignis.

He was panicking, but quickly started backing and rolled down the window, looking towards Ignis as he came to a stop, “Get in! NOW!”

For a moment Ignis seemed to be frozen in his spot, staring as he took in the fact that it was Noctis who had showed up and rammed the other car out of the way to save him. But as the other car started again, he did sprint up to Noctis’ car and got into the passenger’s seat. 

“I told you to go!” Ignis snapped the moment he was in the car, and he wasted no time as he started reloading his gun, “Gods, Noctis, my job is to protect _you_ , not the other way around!”

Noctis just let out a sigh of frustration as he turned the car around and started speeding. But even if his car was still running, the collision with the other car had definitely done some damage, because he couldn’t quite reach the speed he knew the car was capable of.

“I couldn't just leave you behind!” Noctis exclaimed as he briefly looked over at Ignis, “What if they had killed you?! They were about to run you over!”

“You should have kept driving towards your father’s estate anyway!”

“How about a ‘Thanks for saving my fucking ass, Noctis, I sure appreciate it’!” Noctis snapped as he kept glancing into the rear view mirror. At least the car wasn’t following them, “Got anything like that for me? Not a single bit grateful that I care enough about your stubborn ass to turn around and pick you up, huh?”

Ignis sighed in frustration and looked back, as if he was trying to see if the other car was following them, but they did not appear to be followed. After a while he turned forward again and put on his seat belt. The motion must have hurt a bit because he grimaced and rubbed his left shoulder, carefully rolling it a couple of times. 

“You… are you okay?” Noctis asked in concern as he glanced over at Ignis, his earlier irritation dissipating as the worry grew stronger. Ignis had crashed the Regalia after all, “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No,” Ignis shook his head, “It’s nothing to concern yourself with. I’d like you to call Gladio, though, and then your father. I would make the call but my phone is left in the Regalia…”

“Or you do it while I drive,” Noctis pointed out, “So I don’t drive us off of the road, that’d be -,”

“NOCT! WATCH OUT!”

Noctis opened his mouth to ask what, but the moment later he saw how a car heading their way had driven over on their side of the lane.

There was simply too little time to do anything. He tried to desperately maneuver the car around, but he could tell it wasn’t going to work.

The collision came shortly after that, and Noctis couldn’t do much more than grip the wheel tightly and close his eyes. And not much later, things went dark.

 

* * *

 

Noctis groaned as he opened his eyes. He felt heavy and was aching quite a bit, but he wasn’t sure why.

He squinted as he slowly looked around. He wasn’t at his apartment, or at his father’s estate. Or any other place he recognized. The room had no windows, and both the floor and walls seemed to just be made out of concrete, no tapestries or tiles. It almost looked like a cell, considering how bare it was. It felt wrong. Why would he be in such a place? 

He felt his heart speed up and he tried to stand up, but quickly realized that he couldn’t move. He looked down, notcing that he was tied to a chair. He hadn’t noticed that before, probably because he was dizzy and wasn't sure where the hell he was. There were too many questions and too few answers in his mind. 

“W-what? Where…” Noctis trailed off as he desperately looked around.

Part of the room was cloaked in shadows, and Noctis squinted since he thought he saw a dark silhouette there. And soon he was proven right.

 “Finally you grace me with your presence,” a man stepped forward with a taunting smile on his face, “I’ve been waiting for quite some time. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Noctis!”

Noctis didn’t answer as he stared at the man. He was tall and dressed in what looked like quite an expensive suit, violet locks of hair falling down to his shoulders. Somehow, he looked important. 

“Who are you?” Noctis asked with a frown on his face, “And where am I? What the hell happened?”

“Ah, so many questions,” the man chuckled and came to a halt in front of Noctis, “Then again, that _was_ quite the crash you got yourself into. I shouldn’t be surprised that your brain got a bit scrambled. I had preferred to have gotten my hands on you more peacefully… but alas, I had not accounted for you and your bodyguard to travel in separate cars. I do however apologize, it was quite foolish of my men to run you off the road like that.”

Noctis felt his insides go cold. Car crash. Right. He had been driving home from Prompto when…

_“NOCT! WATCH OUT!”_

Ignis. Oh Gods, where was Ignis?

Noctis blinked and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Ignis had been in the Regalia, but then they had suddenly been in the same car. Because Ignis had crashed the Regalia, and Noctis had come back for him. And then they had been pried off the road. It must have been quite brutal considering that Noctis didn’t remember anything past Ignis yelling at him to watch out. Then again he wasn't sure if he even remembered the previous situation properly. At least he thought that was how it had happened. 

“Where is Ignis? You must have him here too, what have you done to him, can I see -,”

“Ignis?” the man repeated with a raised eyebrow in confusion, but then his eyes widened a bit in realization, “Is that your bodyguard’s name? I had no idea. Well, to answer your question he’s also around, but we don’t _need_ him. I was thinking of diposing of him... _You_ are the prize that matters.” 

“No, you can’t,” Noctis’ eyes widened and he shook his head wildly even if it made his neck and head hurt. It had to be from the car crash, “No no no, please, he’s, you just c-can’t. Ignis is -,”

“You _care_ about him?” the man asked and chuckled, circling around Noctis slowly, as if he was eyeing his prey, “Now that is interesting. Considering the amount of bodyguards you have, I didn’t think you’d have such bonds with them. Or perhaps he’s more than a bodyguard to you? A friend? Or a _lover_?”

Noctis swallowed nervously, not answering the man. He didn’t know who it was, but the way he was speaking and circling around him made Noctis feel incredibly nervous. There was something sinister in his eyes, too, that made Noctis shudder. He didn’t want to say anything that would be used against himself, or Ignis.

“I apologize. I’ve not even introduced myself yet, how rude of me!” the man took a bow in front of Noctis, “Ardyn Izunia, at your service. Do you know who I am?”

Noctis frowned as he looked up at the man, Ardyn. He hadn’t seen him before. Noctis was quite sure he’d remember someone with those looks. His entire appearance was quite extravagant. He wore a suit, but there were many more layers to it than Noctis deemed necessary. He didn’t look like anyone Noctis had ever seen before. And he had already seen enough of him, wishing him to disappear. 

“ _Should_ I know you?” Noctis asked after a while, a grimace on his face, “Because I don’t.”

“Oh sweetie,” Ardyn sighed as he approached and grabbed Noctis’ chin, forcing him to look up at him, “I guess Regis hasn’t been keeping you in the loop. I’m the new head of the Niflheim family, and I have a bit of a bone to pick with your father. I have tried to send him a message, but perhaps I wasn’t loud enough. Taking you should make quite the statement, don't you think?”

Noctis’ eyes widened in fear as he took that in. Even he was aware of the fact that Caelum and Niflheim never had gotten along. That was one of the reasons why Regis always had insisted on Noctis being guarded. And it wasn't until now that Noctis could see why it probably hadn’t been paranoia. Not that it had mattered, he was caught despite Regis’ efforts to keep him safe. Then again it probably was Noctis’ own fault, for going back for Ignis. He'd had his chance to get away, and he'd fucked it up.

“I don’t know anything,” Noctis said with gritted teeth, “If it’s information you want, you picked the worst person ever to kidnap. I’m a _student_ , not a part of the fucking yakuza just because my father is.”

“I have plenty of sources for information,” Ardyn smirked, “I do not need you for that.”

“Is it money then?” Noctis asked in annoyance as he tried to pull his face out of Ardyn’s grasp, but it only made the fingers dig into his skin even more, “Or territory?”

“That’s adorable. I do not need those things, Noctis,” Ardyn laughed and leaned in even closer. Noctis could feel his breath against his face, “All I want is to break your dear father.”

Noctis held his breath as he looked into Ardyn’s eyes. There was something hard and cold within them, and it made Noctis feel terrified. Despite this, he tried his best to look defiant. He couldn’t show himself weak.

“And the key to breaking your father, is breaking you,” Ardyn smirked and gently stroke Noctis’ cheek with his free hand, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. But I have some business to attend to for now… After all, your father needs to be informed of the fate you’ve suffered, he must be so worried about you! I’ll see you later, my dear.”

With that Ardyn let go of Noctis’ chin and sauntered out of the room. He flicked the light off before closing the door, leaving Noctis alone in the dark.

Noctis felt the dread wash over him the moment Ardyn had left the room, finally allowing himself to take in the entire situation. He was captured, alone, and Ignis was _somewhere_ and Noctis wanted nothing more than to be reunited with him, to at least have someone there at his side.

For now the only company he had in the dark room was the sound of his own panicked breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins. Which sounds a bit weird to say 9 chapters into the fic, haha, but that's how I feel! Been waiting to get to this part of the story.  
> If you hadn't buckled up before, you better do it now because since when is Ardyn good news? :)
> 
> Thanks a lot for all of your support, kudos and comments aaahhhh!! I feel blessed and emotional from all of it, thanks so much for reading this story and coming along for the ride!!  
> (And the ever so important shout-out to my girlfriend for beta reading and making sure I don't totally screw up my writing :D)


	10. The reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> \- mentions of abuse  
> \- a bit of torture (not super explicit, but still)

_“You need to come back to the estate. Immediately.”_

Gladio blinked slowly as he sat up groggily in his bed. He had just been about to drift into sleep when his phone had gone off. At first he had felt annoyed, but once he had seen that it was Clarus calling, he had instantly picked up. His father only called when he _really_ needed to talk, or if he needed Gladio to pick up Iris. But it was night, so it couldn’t be that.

“Dad?” Gladio said tiredly and yawned as he put his feet down on the floor. A quick look on the digital clock let him know that it was just before midnight, “What’s going on?”

_“It’s better if you come here so I can explain. Easier that way.”_

“Huh, okay...” Gladio murmured as he reached for his pants on the floor with his free hand, “Is it the Niffs again?”

_“I… believe so. Noctis has been taken. Ignis, too, we assume.”_

Gladio stopped for a moment, eyes wide as he stared ahead of himself.

“What do you mean… taken?”

_“Noctis never came home, and neither did Ignis. There were reports of a car crash nearby and… well, we’ve found the Regalia and Noctis’ car.”_

“Fuck,” Gladio cursed and started to quickly pull his pants on, “Okay, I… shit, I’ll be there in 10.”

_“Regis’ private study.”_

“Fine, bye.”

_“Gladiolus… please drive safely.”_

Gladio wasn’t going to drive safely. He was pretty sure Clarus knew that as well.

* * *

 

_...102, 103, 104… 106?_

Noctis sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Ardyn had left him alone, but it had to have been a couple of hours. Since then he had gone through one big panic attack, several anxiety attacks, and moments of calm that didn’t make any sense. In those moments he just tried to count the tiles of the ceiling, but he had lost count. Again.

It was stupid anyway. Counting the tiles wasn’t going to save him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn’t want to think about where he was and under what circumstances, but the rope keeping him in place was a painful reminder of his helplessness.

Of course he had tried to move, but it had been pointless. His legs were tied to the chair as well, not leaving him a lot of possibility to get anywhere. And he had a feeling that he wouldn't get far, anyway. The door was most likely locked, and even if he would get out he was sure he’d be caught. Maybe Ignis would have been able to, but certainly not Noctis.

“Fuck,” he murmured and shook his head, taking a couple of deep breaths to avoid slipping further into the pit of despair and anxiety. It already felt as if he was in neck deep, fighting to stay above the surface.

Just as he was about to find his inner calm again, the sound of the door opening startled him out of it.

“I’m terribly sorry for leaving you unattended for so long,” Ardyn said with a dramatic sigh the moment he entered the room again, “I’ve been trying so very hard to get in touch with your father, but it’s not easy getting through to him. Maybe he’s busy looking for you as we speak? Perhaps you have a private number for him that I could take? It would really make things easier for all of us!”

Noctis gritted his teeth and shook his head, “What makes you think that I’d give his number to _you_?”

Ardyn didn’t respond, instead he tilted his head a bit to the side as he watched Noctis. After a while he approached and wrapped his fingers around Noctis’ throat, a smirk on his face as he squeezed.

“Because if you don’t I might just strangle you here on the spot.”

“Go ahead,” Noctis said, closing his eyes.

Ardyn had said that he wanted to break Regis by breaking Noctis. If that was the case, then Ardyn could hardly just off him like that. It had sounded as if he wanted to make them both _suffer_. Not just kill Noctis right away. Then they could have finished the job when they had pried the car off of the road.

At least he was _fairly_ confident that was the case, but the way Ardyn’s fingers were starting to really dig into Noctis’ throat was concerning. 

“You are not stupid,” Ardyn laughed and eased up on the pressure, “Killing you wouldn’t be any fun, after all.”

Noctis let out a breath of relief as Ardyn let go and took a step back. 

“But I might just strangle your bodyguard. Ignis was it, right? He’s been… interrogated. I’ll give it to him, he’s _very_ stubborn," Ardyn chuckled, "He’s been refusing to talk. He did however say that he wishes to see you with his own eyes, that was the only thing we could get out of him.” 

“You won’t,” Noctis weakly said.

“Are you sure you’re willing to gamble with his life over something as trivial as a phone number?” Ardyn smiled sardonically, “If that is what you wish, then I guess -,”

“Fine,” Noctis snapped, “I’ll give you the number! Just… don’t hurt him.”

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? Here… I’m going to release your arms,” Ardyn said as he walked up behind the chair and started untying the rope that had been digging into Noctis’ wrists, “You better behave, for your own sake… and for Ignis.”

Noctis wanted nothing more than to take a swing at Ardyn the moment his arms were released, but knowing that Ignis could be the one to pay made him refrain from it. Instead he gently massaged his wrists, trying to get some proper blood flow back into his hands. The rope had made his fingers go somewhat numb.

“Here,” Ardyn said, offering him a pen and a piece of paper, “Be a dear and write the number down.”

It wasn’t as if he had a choice. And Ardyn would find one way or another to get in contact with Regis anyway, so he wrote down the number to Regis’ personal phone. Just telling himself that it didn’t matter.

“Thank you,” Ardyn said once Noctis was done, taking the paper and the pen away from him before leaning down and gripping his chin. After a while he smirked and placed a kiss against Noctis’ cheek, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Get away from me,” Noctis spat and jerked away from Ardyn “Don’t touch me!”

“You’re forgetting your place here, Noctis,” Ardyn warned but he did release Noctis and stepped back, “Since you haven’t been here for very long, I’ll overlook it... for now. And I’ll even grant you a reward for being so nice and giving me the number.”

Ardyn walked up to the door and opened it up. A couple of murmured words were exchanged with someone before Ardyn stepped aside once more, and then someone was shoved into the room.

Noctis gasped as he realized that it was Ignis.

Being shoved into the room had made Ignis lose his balance, and he fell to the floor, landing with a grunt. He squinted as he struggled to get up, looking around until he came face to face with Noctis. Ignis looked terrible, harried, but upon seeing Noctis he let out a breath of relief as his shoulders slumped down.

“Noctis, thank the Six…”

“I do not think your gods have anything to do with that,” Ardyn said mockingly as he looked at the two of them, “I will leave you to your reunion, after all I have a call to make!”

Both of them were silent until the door closed, and even after that they waited for a good minute before daring to speak again.

“What did they do to you?” Noctis asked, eyes wide as he looked at Ignis. It looked as if he had been roughed up, he was bruised and had a split lip. And his glasses were gone.

Then again, Noctis guessed it was possible that they had been lost in the car crash. But Ardyn had also said that Ignis had been interrogated. Noctis doubted that had simply involved asking questions, especially if Ignis had refused to answer them.

“Nothing too bad,” Ignis grimaced, “Some of the damage is from the crash. Don’t worry about me, how… how are you? Has he hurt you? Are you okay?” 

“He… didn’t hurt me,” Noctis shrugged, “So I’m okay. I guess.”

He wasn’t okay. Both he and Ignis knew it. But they also knew that it could be a lot worse. It would probably get a lot worse. Noctis could sense it.

“Izunia… Izunia hasn’t done anything to you?”

“N-no,” Noctis swallowed nervously, “Not yet, at least.” 

Ignis’ eyes narrowed a bit, staring right into Noctis’ eyes. There was a certain look on his face, a look that Noctis hadn’t seen before. It made him want to crawl into a corner and hide.

“What were you thinking when you came back for me?” Ignis snapped, “My job is to protect you. Why we’re here right now, that is the _exact_ reason why your father has people to look out for you! How am I supposed to adequately do my duty if you rush into danger when I am in a tight spot? I could have gotten out of there on my own, Noctis!”

Noctis winced and opened his mouth, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He knew he wasn’t supposed to do things like that, and truth to be told, if it had been one of the other men that never entered Noctis’ apartment or even spoke to him, he would probably have kept driving if told to drive, because he had been absolutely terrified.

But Ignis was different.

Ignis was more than just a bodyguard, he was someone who Noctis cared deeply about. Sure they joked about Ignis being more like a mom at times, but that was almost a truth. Noctis felt a strong emotional bond to Ignis, and that was something he hadn’t been able to ignore when Ignis had told him to go. It would have been like leaving _family_ behind. _Real_ family, not yakuza family.

“I was worried,” Noctis quietly said, “I... I thought you were in trouble and -,”

“I’m a professional,” Ignis said. There was still a harsh edge to his voice, “I could have gotten out of that situation by running into an alley where the car couldn’t have followed, but instead you rammed that car and now... here we are.”

Noctis couldn’t do much more than curl in on himself, lowering his head so his bangs covered his eyes. He couldn’t come up with anything to say. Maybe it was his own fault that the two of them were stuck in there. Maybe Ignis would have been able to escape into that alley, and maybe the car that had pried them off of the road wouldn’t have had time to spot Noctis if he had kept driving.

Ignis didn’t speak either, so soon the only sound in the room was the sound of their breathing, and then the sound of tears hitting the floor.

Noctis was crying. He was angry at himself, and absolutely terrified. He had thought that he’d feel better about being reunited with Ignis, but instead he was feeling worse because now he just felt tremendously guilty over having put both of them in that situation.

“I’m sorry,” Noctis forced out after a while, burying his face in his hands, “It’s all my fault. Gods, I’m such a fucking _idiot_.”

Noctis hated the fact that he was crying. Hated that Ignis disappointment could hurt as much as it did. Hated how he _knew_ that Ignis was right, that he had been a fool for rushing back after Ignis when he should have kept driving and not looked back.

Hated how Ardyn could hurt them both, and how it seemed that he really wanted to hurt them.

After a while Ignis sighed, and Noctis winced slightly as he saw Ignis get up from the ground and head over towards Noctis.

He didn’t say anything, but Noctis could feel that Ignis was starting to undo the rest of the ropes that kept him tied to the chair. After a while he was free, and Ignis tugged him up from the chair and pulled him over to a corner of the cell.

There was a dirty mattress on the floor, and Ignis sat down on it, leaning against the wall and taking Noctis down with him.

“I… I apologize for snapping at you like that,” Ignis said, his voice mellow as he wrapped an arm around Noctis’ shoulders, “But I will not take back the fact that you should have kept going.”

“I know,” Noctis murmured, “Gods, I _know_ , but I got scared and didn’t think. And there was another car anyway, they… they’d probably have gotten me even if I hadn’t gone back. But fuck, maybe I landed you in here for nothing? Fuck.”

“Did Izunia say anything to you? About why he kidnapped you?”

Noctis instantly tensed up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had really tried to just not think about that, because whenever he did, he felt sick and didn’t know what to do. All the anxiety just washed over him again. It felt as if he was going to drown.

“Is it a ransom?”

“No,” Noctis shook his head. He wished it was as simple as a ransom or a fight about territory, “No… he said that he wants to break Dad, a-and…”

He couldn’t bring himself to continue, just shaking his head and burying his face in his hands again. It felt hopeless.

“Noctis… what more did he say? Please, tell me,” Ignis pleaded, “I cannot do my job if I do not know what we are up against. You can’t keep secrets from me, not in here, not if we want to get through this. _Talk_ to me, Noct… please?”

That made Noctis let out a weak laugh and he shrugged as he let his hands fall from his face.

“He said that the key to breaking Dad, is breaking me. That’s… that’s all he said. And that he looked forward to getting to know me better,” Noctis said bitterly and leaned his head against Ignis’ shoulder, “I’m scared, Specs.”

Ignis one armed embrace tightened a bit and he swallowed before taking a deep breath and leaning his head against Noctis’.

“I’ll do everything in my might to protect you.”

“Gonna be hard in here,” Noctis said with a weak smile on his face, “This is really shitty. If it’s any consolation, it’s me he seems to want to break.”

“That’s the opposite of consolation, Noct,” Ignis sounded pained as he spoke, “I… I just wish I could take you away from here.”

“You being here is enough,” Noctis murmured, feeling his eyes flutter shut, “Sorry.”

He was an emotional mess, and he felt exhausted. Even if they probably hadn’t been there for very long, he felt ready to pass out from how tired he was.

“Stop apologizing,” Ignis said softly, “And… take a nap. You seem tired.”

“But, what if -,”

“I’ll be up. I’ll wake you if someone comes here,” Ignis insisted, even if it didn’t matter, “Please, get some rest.”

Noctis sighed but nodded against Ignis’ shoulder. He wasn’t sure when he’d feel safe enough to relax again, so it was best taking the chance.

 

* * *

 

Gladio was tense and nervous as he entered the estate, only offering a curt nod at the men at the door before he headed towards Regis’ private study. 

Clarus had told him to drive safely, but he definitely hadn’t. Gladio had certainly broken the speed limits, there was no doubts about it. It hadn’t taken him more than ten minutes to get there, and that was including the minutes it had taken for him to leave his apartment.

As he approached the door he hesitated for a moment, not sure if he was supposed to just head in or knock. After a while he just cursed silently and opened the door. He didn’t have time for silly things like that. He was Noctis’ main bodyguard, and Noctis was _gone_ along with Ignis. He doubted him storming in without knocking was going to be a big deal.

“You called for me,” he said as his gaze found Clarus who was standing slightly behind Regis, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Regis was staring out the window, his fingers gripping tightly at his cane. Gladio couldn’t see his face, but he could tell that he was tense. Everyone in the room seemed terribly tense, and he couldn’t blame anyone. He himself felt on edge, too.

“Noctis’ car and the Regalia has been retrieved. Both pretty damaged. The Regalia had been driven into a lamp post… Noctis’ car appears to have been pried off of the road,” Cor said. He was sitting in a chair, his arms crossed over his chest, “No signs of neither Noctis nor Ignis, and their phones were still in the cars.”

_I should have gone with Ignis._

If he hadn’t started the fight, then just maybe he would have gone with them. And maybe whatever had happened, wouldn’t have happened.

“Niflheim,” Gladio gritted out, “It’s them, right?”

“Most likely,” Drautos said, almost making Gladio jump. He hadn’t noticed him in the corner of the room, leaning against a wall, “Considering the increase in activity lately… I can’t see it being anyone else.”

“It _is_ them,” Regis said after a while, “Before you all arrived, I received a phone call. The man I spoke to claimed to be Ardyn Izunia, and he told me that he has Noctis.”

“But he offered no proof,” Clarus continued, “So we cannot be certain that he has Noctis. Maybe he’s just trying to play Noctis' disappearance to his advantage. But…”

“Who else would take him?” Regis asked tiredly and turned around to be able to face them all, “He has not been taken to any of the local hospitals, neither has Ignis. And it was a call to my _private_ phone. The only ones who know that number are everyone in here, _and_ Noctis.”

“They might have gotten it from Noctis, but it’s also possible they have gotten their hands on it some other way,” Cor said and sighed, “We cannot jump to conclusions at this point.”

“What did he say?” Gladio asked. He didn’t care how Niflheim had gotten their hands on Regis’ number, he needed to know about Noctis and Ignis, “He must have said _something_ about Noct and Iggy.”

“Only that he supposedly has them,” Clarus muttered, “When Regis expressed doubt upon not getting any evidence he excused himself and said that he’d get back in touch tomorrow. There’s no number to call back, so for that… we can’t do much more than wait.”

Regis took a deep breath and closed his eyes, slowly exhaling. He was clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check. After a while he headed over to his desk and sat down.

“Cor.”

“Yes, sir?”

“What do you recommend for now?”

“That we keep it in this room for now,” Cor said, “I don’t want throw around accusations, but for Niflheim to find Noctis like that… someone must have followed him. And since Noctis' identity always has been quite secretive… we can’t out rule that there’s a mole somewhere in the family. And if there is one, we do _not_ want to feed them more information than necessary.”

“I can check out Noctis’ apartment,” Gladio suggested after a while, “And Ignis’... just in case there’s _something_ there.”

“And what do you expect to find there? A message from their kidnapper?” Drautos asked with a raised eyebrow, “They were taken outside, you’ll hardly find anything at their homes.”

“Titus,” Regis said sharply, earning an apologetic look from Drautos, “You _should_ do that, Gladiolus. There is not much that we can do for now.”

“There might be footage from the roads where they got ambushed,” Clarus pointed out after a while, “We should definitely look into that, too.”

Cor nodded, “We might have to do some bribing, but that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Good,” Regis nodded, “If… if we can find any footage, we could possibly find where they’ve been taken.”

“So… that’s it?” Gladio asked, “We just… check the apartments, check if there’s footage and… wait?”

“We don’t have much of a choice right now,” Clarus frowned, “Unless you have any other ideas?”

Gladio opened his mouth but he couldn’t come up with anything. So he simply sighed in frustration and shrugged before heading over towards the same window Regis had been staring out of earlier.

It felt as if they wouldn’t be doing enough, yet he couldn’t come up with any more ideas since there wasn’t enough to go on for now.

“Can I go then?” Gladio finally asked, turning his head towards Regis, “I want to check out their places right away. Just in case.”

Regis nodded slowly, “If you find something, let us know… if not, then please get home and get some rest. We’ll inform you if we find something worth following up. Otherwise I’m afraid there’s not much more we can do until Izunia contacts us again.”

“Fine,” Gladio said, “I’ll be on my way.”

He turned and quickly made his exit, not even saying bye to any of them. He was struggling to keep his anger in control, and he knew that the longer he stayed in that room, the more likely it would be that he’d have an outburst in front of them all.

The way Regis talked pissed him off, too. It was stupid, he knew that Regis was worried but he wished to see some more emotion about it from him. As he sat by his desk he had almost appeared apathetic, as if he didn’t care. But maybe it was just how Regis coped with the situation. Shutting down one’s emotions to get through something.

Maybe Gladio was a hypocrite since he himself had forced himself to stay as hard and blank as possible in there. He hadn’t been much different from Regis in that sense.

Once Gladio was back in his car he didn’t start it for a while, instead he finally let out a shout of anger that he had been holding in. And then he let his fist fall to the steering wheel. Not once, but several times. Even hitting the horn at one point, surely startling some poor guard outside the estate.

“Fuck!” he cursed loudly as he dug his fingers into the steering wheel, “FUCK!”

He hardly reacted when the door to the passenger seat opened.

“Gladiolus.”

He tensed up. It was his father.

“I should have been there, Dad,” Gladio said, his voice strained, “I’m Noctis’ goddamned bodyguard, but I let Ignis go alone and I should have fucking been there.”

Clarus sighed heavily and leaned back.

“You can’t be there for him all the time. And Ignis is more than capable, too,” Clarus murmured, “If you had gone with them, it’s likely that all three of you would have been taken. You can’t blame yourself for this, it’s going to eat you up.”

“Easy for you to say,” Gladio said bitterly, “It’s not the guy you’re supposed to protect that’s been captured! Or the person you like!”

He hadn’t even planned on saying it, but there it was, out in the open.

If only it had been that simple saying it to Ignis.

“Gladio… you mean…”

“I know my main responsibility is Noctis,” Gladio said, staring out the window, “But Ignis… I _care_ about him. In a different way than I care for Noct.”

“I had no idea,” Clarus said quietly, “I’m sorry, son.”

“Sorry doesn’t make it any better.”

If he'd only had the fucking guts to tell Ignis how he felt before he had gotten into the car. Maybe they had gone together then. Maybe he had been there to help both Ignis and Noctis. There were so many ‘what if’ scenarios running through his mind, and he hated how it didn’t change a damned thing because they couldn’t turn back time and do it differently.

“I know it doesn’t make it any better,” Clarus said sharply but put a hand on Gladio’s shoulder, “Neither does beating yourself up about it. If you let yourself wallow in self-pity and hatred you’re just going to end up not concentrating on the things you _need_ to concentrate on. I did that mistake back when Aulea died. It wasn’t my fault, but the thought of knowing that I could _possibly_ have prevented her death… it was tearing me apart. I nearly quit, and if it weren’t for Regis assuring me that it wasn’t my fault, I would have.”

“But -,”

“No,” Clarus said firmly, “You need to get your mind into a better place. Do you want to find Noctis and Ignis?”

“What kind of fucking question is that?” Gladio snapped and looked over at his father, “Of course I do!”

“Then stop wasting your energy on being angry at yourself. Do something useful with that anger, direct it at the people who _deserve_ it.”

Gladio closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn’t exhale until he felt Clarus squeeze his shoulder. He knew that he was right, but it wasn’t easy just letting go of it.

“Now, get going,” Clarus said gruffly and let go of Gladio, “And try to get some rest. You won’t be of any help if you run out of fuel.”

Gladio nodded slowly and looked at Clarus who already was on his way out of the car.

“Dad… thanks.”

“Just looking out for you.”

With that the door closed and Gladio took one more deep breath before starting the engine. He had work to do.

 

* * *

 

Noctis groaned as he was shaken awake by Ignis. He was about to complain when he was reminded of where they were. The door had just opened again, and Ardyn was stepping in. A couple of men were standing behind him, both silently staring ahead.

“Well, I’m afraid we have a bit of a problem. I called your father, but he simply wouldn’t take my word,” Ardyn sighed as he looked at Noctis and then over at Ignis, “How will they believe that I have you without any proof?”

“You have your phone, don’t you? And you do have the number now,” Ignis stiffly said, Noctis was too terrified to even look at Ardyn’s face so he kept staring at his feet, “Record a message, send a picture. It shouldn’t be _that_ complicated.”

“Careful now, Ignis,” Ardyn smirked, “That sounded a lot like an insult. I _am_ aware of the fact that I could send Regis a picture, but…”

Ardyn trailed off as he turned his gaze back to Noctis who was still looking away, but he could _feel_ Ardyn’s eyes upon him, and he wanted nothing more than for him to go away. At least Noctis had some comfort in having Ignis there next to him. Without Ignis, Noctis would have been completely lost. But it didn’t make him any less terrified. Not after the things Ardyn had told him earlier.

“It’s just a bit disappointing how your father hasn’t been responding much to my earlier statements,” Ardyn mused as he started to slowly pace in front of them, “So I think I need to be _very_ clear about things, to make sure that there is no room for misunderstanding.”

He came to a halt before Noctis and smiled. Noctis looked at his face briefly but turned away in disgust. Something wasn’t right with him. Noctis could tell that Ardyn was getting off on tormenting him, and it made him feel sick.

“Would someone please tie him to the chair?” Ardyn asked and then looked over at one of his men, “And someone hold his bodyguard, in case he gets any ideas to try and help.”

Noctis opened his mouth to protest, but soon enough he was being pulled up from the floor and forced down onto the chair he had been on earlier.

“Leave his right arm free,” Ardyn commented as he pulled a small table up towards Noctis.

“What are you doing?” Noctis asked as the guard fastened the rope tightly around him, “What the hell -,”

He was cut off by a harsh slap to his face, leaving him speechless.

“Too many questions,” Ardyn said simply and then addressed the man behind Noctis, “Please put his hand against the table, firmly.”

Noctis felt panic well up as the man grabbed his right wrist and pinned it down to the table. He tried to struggle, but the man was strong and he didn’t even move or let up on the grip a single bit no matter how much Noctis tried to pull his arm away.

“You might not want to do that, Noctis,” Ardyn picked up a dagger from the table, looking carefully at it before nodding in approval to himself. Then he turned to flash Noctis a wide grin. He looked predatory, “I think the message will be a lot clearer if we send something of yours to him.”

Ardyn tilted his head to the side, looking at Noctis’ fingers. He pointed the tip of his dagger into Noctis’ index finger, making Noctis freeze up as he held his breath, eyes wide as he stared down at his own hand. His heart was beating rapidly, and he was starting to breathe irregularly. He didn’t want to have his fingers cut off. He didn’t want to be there.

He wanted to go back home.

He wanted to go back to his dad.

He wanted to see Prompto and Gladio again.

“Please,” Ignis pleaded, “Please take me instead. Use me to send your message, not him. That should suffice, should it not? Use me as an example. You don’t need Noctis for that.”

“N-no,” Noctis croaked, turning to face Ignis who was being held back by the other man Ardyn had brought into the room, “No. Not him.”

“Aren’t you both just adorable?” Ardyn cooed but then turned back to Noctis, “He really is a good bodyguard. You must treasure him dearly. It’s hard finding such loyal men these days!”

Noctis swallowed but didn’t dare to nod or shake his head. Ardyn already knew that he cared, but he was afraid that anything he did would end up getting Ignis hurt. And he really didn’t want Ignis to get hurt and suffer just because Noctis was caught.

“While it’s a very valiant and touching gesture, Ignis, I’m afraid you wouldn’t make as much as an impact on Regis…” Ardyn sighed and shook his head, “It simply won’t do.”

With that the pressure of the knife was back on Noctis’ finger, but it moved over, after a while landing more firmly on his middle finger. The same finger he wore his mother’s ring on.

“Sending just any finger won’t do… I am not sure he could tell if it was yours or not,” Ardyn mused and looked at Noctis' hand. A drop of blood was starting to run down the side from where the dagger was digging into the skin below the ring, “How considerate of you to wear a ring. It certainly looks like something your father would recognize.”

Noctis closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He wanted to desperately fight and flee. But he couldn’t do any of that. He was tied down, a man was holding his arm to the table, and Ardyn was looming over him.

“You should see the look on your face, Noctis,” Ardyn said and leaned forward, running his fingers through Noctis’ hair before brushing his lips against his cheek. He seemed to have a thing for that, and it made Noctis shudder, “Fear is a good look on you. I wonder… do you still look as pretty when you scream?”

Then, without any warning, Ardyn forcefully pressed the dagger down.

Noctis screamed as his finger was severed from his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Noctis. I'm so sorry for what I'm doing to you.
> 
> Thanks a lot for all the continued support! You guys are seriously the best and I love you guys lots for supporting me and this story through reading, leaving kudos and/or comments and such. I know I keep saying it, but it really blows my mind. And I'm just super happy to share this story with you!  
> And thanks to my girlfriend for beta reading. Got this chapter out a bit earlier than planned tonight thanks to her! :D
> 
> Next update will be published next week, but I do not dare specify which day!


	11. The delivery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: none (overlooking mentions of what happened at the end of chapter 10)

The silence in the room was deafening, and Ignis didn’t know what to do about it. Anytime he opened his mouth to speak, he just couldn’t come up with words that seemed to have any point. Questions were in his mind, but he already knew the answers to them, or didn’t want to know the answers.

It was extremely frustrating. He always seemed to know what to say or do, but he had never felt in such lack of control. He wanted to protect Noctis, but he _couldn’t_. That much was obvious from the way Ardyn had cut off Noctis’ finger without showing a single bit of remorse, only _glee_ and amusement. 

“Noctis… Noct, are you…” Ignis began but he trailed off, eyes lingering on Noctis.

What was it he was going to ask? If Noctis was okay? It was a pointless question, because _of course_ Noctis wasn’t okay. Ignis wasn’t okay, either, but Noctis was even worse off. Ignis could still hear Noctis screams echoing in his head, but it was how Noctis had abruptly stopped screaming that had really scared him.

Once Ardyn had severed the finger from Noctis’ hand, it was as if Noctis’ entire body had gone slack. For a moment Ignis had thought that he had passed out, which in hindsight probably would have been for the best, but then he had noticed that Noctis still had been shaking.

A couple of hours had passed since then, and they had been moved to a new room. It wasn’t much different. It was quite bare and didn’t hold much more than the previous room they had been in. There was a dirty mattress on the floor, a table and a couple of chairs in a corner, but thankfully there was a small bathroom connected to the room. The door had been removed, but it would do. After all they had no idea how long they’d be there until they’d get out.

 _If we’ll get out_.

“I know you aren’t well,” Ignis tried speaking again as he looked at Noctis, “But… how are you faring?”

Noctis let out a hollow laugh and shrugged. He was sitting down, leaning against the wall with his hand cradled to his chest. At least Ardyn had ordered one of his men to have the wound properly cleaned and dressed. But the reasoning made Ignis feel sick to his stomach.

_“We do not want you to die of infection before we’ve had a chance to have more fun, do we, Noctis?”_

Ignis had no doubt about Ardyn being a sadist. He was certain about it since he really seemed to enjoy causing them pain and playing mind games. He had even said so before he let Ignis reunite with Noctis, that he only kept him alive because Noctis _cared_ and that it was more fun that way.

Of course he was going to use them as leverage against each other.

“Specs… you want to know what's funny?” Noctis asked quietly after a while. Ignis squinted, trying to get a better look at Noctis’ face but it was impossible to see any details without his glasses. But he was quite sure Noctis wasn’t smiling.

And there wasn’t a single thing about their situation that Ignis could imagine being funny, either.

“What…?” he asked in the end, not sure he wanted to know. 

“When he cut off my finger… I was kind of more worried about the ring than the finger for a while,” Noctis chuckled, but it still didn’t hold any emotion to it. It sounded dull, “Guess it’s fine though… I mean, if he’s sending it to Dad at least he can keep the ring safe.”

Ignis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn’t want to imagine how Regis would react upon getting Noctis’ finger with his mother’s ring still attached to it delivered to his home.

“Noctis… I am sorry, but there is absolutely nothing funny about that,” Ignis said, his voice was strained, “Does… does it hurt?”

“Yeah,” Noctis shrugged and looked down at his hand, “It throbbing. But considering that it was cut off… it’s manageable. Could be worse, I guess.”

“At least they cleaned it for you,” Ignis murmured, “It would be terribly bad if you were to get an infection.”

“Maybe it would have been better that way,” Noctis said bitterly.

“Don’t say that,” Ignis moved over to Noctis and sat down in front of him, waiting to speak again until Noctis was looking at him. It felt better now that he could see the look in his eyes properly, “We’ll get through this. Your father will… we’ll be saved.”

Noctis smiled sadly and shook his head, “You’re only saying that to make me feel better. We both know that there’s no way to know if we’ll be saved or not.” 

“Let’s keep our hopes up,” Ignis murmured softly and reached out, putting a hand on Noctis’ leg, “We can’t give up now. Be strong, Noctis.”

“I’ve never been strong,” Noctis said with a heavy sigh, and Ignis hated how defeated he looked, “You know that. You’ve seen me at my low points. That’s not being strong.”

“You _are_ ,” Ignis insisted, “Despite everything, you are _here_ and you are _alive_. And you’ve been… you’ve been doing so much better. It takes a lot of strength to be able to do that.”

“I had help… you, Dad… even Gladio,” Noctis swallowed and Ignis could see his lips quivering slightly as he uttered the last name in a whisper, “Prompto.”

“Then stay strong for all of us. You aren’t in here alone, I am here. And they… they are no doubt thinking of you now. Try and let that be a comfort.”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell him, Specs,” Noctis croaked after a while and used his left hand to cover his face, “I was going to tell him who I really was, but I said _tomorrow_ and now he might never know and it’s just… I wish I had told him.”

Ignis didn’t say anything, because he honestly was out of false promises to make, and he knew that he couldn’t take away the pain Noctis felt, or the fear. All he really could do was to offer his support, even if it felt useless in their situation.

Noctis was struggling to hold back his emotions, Ignis could tell.

With a small sigh Ignis took off his jacket and gently grabbed Noctis, pushing him to lie down on the mattress. It had been a long couple of hours, and he was quite sure it had to be very late night or early morning. And both of them were completely drained of energy.

“Ignis, what are you -,”

“Shush,” Ignis hushed him softly and placed the jacket over him, “Sleep.” 

“I napped earlier,” Noctis protested weakly, but he looked exhausted, “You should sleep.”

“I’ll sleep if _you_ sleep.”

“Then get down here,” Noctis murmured and pulled at Ignis’ sleeve with his left hand, “You’re not sleeping on the floor.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow. The mattress was just made for a single bed, but Noctis had scooted in as close to the wall as he could. If they stayed on their sides and didn’t mind getting close then it was definitely possible.

“You don’t mind?”

Noctis shook his head, “Please?”

Ignis cursed himself mentally. Of course Noctis didn’t want to be alone. It’d probably feel safer for him to have someone there, and Ignis couldn’t deny him that. In fact, it would probably make him feel better, too, knowing that he had Noctis right there.

“Certainly,” Ignis said and smiled even if it felt a bit forced. He shuffled a bit before finally lying down next to Noctis, struggling a bit with figuring out where to put his arms in the cramped space, “Do you -,”

“I don’t mind,” Noctis said before Ignis even could say what he meant, “Just… don’t leave me, please.”

“I’d never,” Ignis said quietly and wrapped his arms around Noctis, pulling him in closer, “Go to sleep.”

Noctis sighed but he didn’t say anything more, and Ignis felt relief when he felt Noctis relax against him.

Ignis had said that he also was going to go to sleep, but as he felt Noctis deep and warm breaths against his chest he just couldn't bring himself to sleep. He felt as if something would go terribly wrong if he did. That he’d wake up and be alone. So instead he just tightened his embrace on Noctis slightly, while staring into the wall behind him, praying that they’d get out of there before Ardyn could do any more permanent damage to the two of them.

At least he wished Noctis would be spared. Ignis could take it. He’d _die_ for Noctis.

But he knew Noctis never would let him do that. Gods, why hadn’t he realized earlier that his role as Noctis’ bodyguard had been compromised because of the way both of them cared for each other? It was dangerous, not because Ignis' cared, but because  _Noctis_ cared too much.

If they ever got out from there, things would have to change.

* * *

 Prompto frowned as he stared down at his phone, a very one sided text-conversation staring back at him.

He had texted Noctis more than ten times without receiving any replies. If it had just been a normal school day he would have understood, because sometimes Noctis still skipped random classes in favor of sleeping in half a day, but he was supposed to see his dad for lunch, and then go to Prompto’s place.

It was now 3 PM and there was _still_ no response from Noctis, not even while calling him. He just got to voice mail. And a logic part of Prompto’s brain tried to tell him that maybe he just had forgotten to charge his phone and gotten busy with something. Another part of him couldn’t stop worrying. What if something had happened? What if Noctis had passed out or gotten hurt and no one was there to help him?

That was how Prompto suddenly found himself standing outside Noctis’ apartment, anxiously nibbling on his lip as he stared at the door. He was kind of scared of knocking, or rather scared of the door not being answered. It wasn’t like Noctis to make plans and then just not follow through with them. Not when it was related to the two of them hanging out, at least. It was one of the consistent things, no matter how good or bad Noctis felt, he still liked being with Prompto.

After a couple of minutes of anxious pacing back and forth in front of the door, Prompto finally took a deep breath and quickly rapped his knuckles on the door three times.

For half a minute he waited, and he felt relief as the door was swung open and he came face to face with Gladio.

“H-hey, Gladio!” Prompto said and forced a grin onto his face despite still feeling nervous, “Is Noctis in? We had plans after lunch but I… I haven't been able to reach him.”

Prompto could see how Gladio visibly tensed up but he did step aside, letting Prompto into the apartment. It was unnerving how he didn’t say anything, and that he didn’t smile.

Prompto wasn’t sure he had ever seen Gladio greet him like that before. There had been no trace of the trademark grin he usually flashed Prompto whenever he greeted him. Instead he just looked blank, almost as if he had tried to shut down all his emotions.

It made Prompto’s skin crawl, but he tried to ignore it as he got his shoes off and followed Gladio into Noctis’ living room. He instantly noted that Noctis wasn’t in there. Actually, his shoes hadn’t even been in the hallway.

“S-so… Noct?” he asked and stared at Gladio who had his back turned towards him, “Where is he?”

“Not here.” 

Prompto took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. That wasn’t much of an answer.

“So… where is he?” Prompto asked and dropped down into the couch, “Is he still with his dad?”

Gladio shook his head and turned away from the window to face Prompto, “When’s the last time you saw Noctis?”

“Around… uhm… 8? Yesterday night. He dropped me off at home after we had watched a movie…” Prompto trailed off. He was starting to feel a bit lightheaded, not liking the conversation one bit, “Why?”

“Then you’re the last person who saw him before he disappeared.”

“Wait… what? What do you mean disappeared?” Prompto asked anxiously, “H-he was just fine, he…”

Well. Noctis hadn’t answered Prompto’s good night text, which he _always_ did.

And he hadn’t logged onto King’s Knight even if he had said that he would.

Prompto had thought that Noctis maybe had gone to bed early, after all one of Noctis’ favorite pastimes was sleeping and napping. He hadn’t thought much of it. Now he felt really bad. Maybe he should have reacted more at that point, instead of the next day.

“H-have you talked to your uncle about it?”

“My what?” Gladio asked with a confused look on his face, “I don’t… I don’t have any uncles?”

“But… Noct’s dad?,” Prompto felt even more confused than Gladio looked, “You said you guys were cousins, I… uh, I just assumed that...” 

Prompto sighed, shrugging. He wasn’t sure what to say. Did it even matter?

“Yeah, about _that_ ,” Gladio let out a sharp laugh and crossed his arms as he shook his head, “That’s just a load of crap. Noct and I aren’t a single bit related. I’m just his bodyguard.”

“B-but… but he said… and _you_ said that you were -,”

“Do you honestly think that just any random kid of a yakuza member would get kidnapped?” Gladio snapped and Prompto felt his face heat up, “You think they’d have the kind of security Noct has?”

Prompto couldn’t bring himself to speak as he looked around the apartment. Sure, he had thought that it was a bit strange that Noctis had so much security, but Prompto was no expert on yakuza even if he had certain basic knowledge of how it worked. How was he supposed to know what was normal and what wasn’t? 

“My name _is_ Amicitia,” Gladio grunted and turned back to stare out the window. It was dreary outside, and Prompto was starting to feel as if it reflected how he felt. And probably Gladio, too, “ _His_ name is Noctis Lucis Caelum.”

Prompto opened his mouth but instantly shut it again and put a hand over it.

Noctis _Lucis Caelum_?

Everyone knew the Caelum syndicate. It wasn’t possible to _not_ know. Prompto knew it was the biggest yakuza family in the country, and that if Noctis name was Lucis Caelum, he had to be related to someone in charge since he carried the _name_ of the yakuza family.

Suddenly the extreme security made sense. And Noctis’ acting weird about it the first time they discussed the yakuza. It also explained why it seemed as if Noctis’ father was constantly busy, because if he was high up then he probably spent a lot of time managing things related to the family. And it explained why Noctis had been so tight lipped about his family. 

“Y-you mean… he’s related to…”

“He’s the son of Regis Lucis Caelum,” Gladio continued, “You know, the oyabun.” 

Oyabun. That meant boss, Prompto was pretty certain of it at least. Noctis’ father was the _boss_ of the entire Caelum syndicate.

 _“Can we talk about something later?”_

_“We can talk about it tomorrow.”_

Noctis had seemed nervous both times they had reached the subject of whatever it was Noctis had wanted to talk about the previous day. Perhaps that was it. Maybe he wanted to tell Prompto, but never had gotten a chance to?

Prompto felt conflicted. Part of him thought that he probably should have felt angry about being lied to, but another part knew that it didn’t change Noctis’ personality. He had come to know _Noctis_ , someone who had been miserable and lost, but who had turned out to be one of the kindest and most beautiful persons Prompto had ever learned to know. He hadn’t come to know him as the son of a yakuza boss.  And Noctis had said that he just wanted to be _normal_.

Prompto couldn’t be angry. Especially not with knowing that Noctis was _gone_.

“What happened to him?” Prompto asked after a while, his voice trembling, “D-do you know _anything_?”

“Not anything I can tell you,” Gladio muttered, “Listen, kid. I just got here to sweep the place a second time in case there was something I missed during night. I was thinking of doing the same at Ignis’ place too but -,”

“W-wait, Ignis is gone too?!”

“Yeah,” Gladio gritted his teeth, “Iggy’s also gone.”

“Please, let me help,” Prompto begged and pushed himself up from the couch, approaching Gladio, “There must be _something_ I can do! Like, even the most simple thing, I could put up missing posters, call around, j-just… something!” 

Gladio sighed heavily and turned towards Prompto again, shaking his head.

“Sorry, but this is serious,” Gladio said, “Can’t allow you as a civilian to jump into this. And you keep quiet about this, alright?”

“But, there… there has to be -,”

“No, it’s enough with the two of them being gone,” Gladio snapped, “Don’t need to get your scrawny ass into this shit, too.”

To say that Prompto was frustrated would have been an understatement. Gladio had just told him that his boyfriend was kidnapped, and he wanted Prompto to just sit down and do nothing? He _refused_ to just give up like that.

“Actually… you’re the last person who saw him before Ignis…” Gladio mused after a while, “ _Shit_. You gotta come with me.”

“Wait, what? Why the change of heart?” Prompto asked in confusion, he had just been about to go angry when Gladio suddenly had changed his mind.

“Because we don’t know if you’re known to them,” Gladio gruffly said, “You might be in danger, too. Did you see _anything_ out of place yesterday?”

Prompto shook his head, at a complete loss. He wasn’t sure what to consider out of place, anyway.

“No… nothing,” he said dejectedly, “I don’t think so, at least.”

“Fuck,” Gladio muttered and sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides again, “Still, you need to come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Prompto asked as he followed Gladio back to the hallway.

“I’m taking you to the estate.”

“What estate?”

“The headquarters. Regis’ home. Where Noctis lived before he moved away from home.”

Prompto’s head was overflowing with questions. Did this mean he’d have to meet Noctis’ father? What if he thought that Prompto was a threat? What if they’d kill him? He didn’t have family that cared about him, it’d be _easy_ to dispose of him and have no one know about it.

“U-uhm, I… I’m not sure about that,” Prompto nervously said, “It’s…”

“You said you wanted to do something,” Gladio said and stared into his eyes, “That something is at least coming over to talk to Cor about this shit, and let us assign someone to watch _your_ ass. Noctis would kill me if you ended up getting nabbed, too.”

Alright. Maybe he had been a bit hasty thinking that they wanted to kill him. 

Prompto grimaced. He still didn’t like the prospect of being dragged to the Caelum syndicate’s headquarters, but if he could do just _anything_ to aid them in the search for Noctis, then he’d of course do it. But he couldn’t see why Gladio would want someone to keep an eye on him. After all, he was just an ordinary citizen.

“Sure…” his shoulders slumped down a bit as he put on his shoes, “If you think I can do anything, then sure.”

Gladio offered a slight relieved smile upon hearing that, but it was gone after just a second. Prompto had been lucky to catch it. 

“Good, then let’s get going.”

* * *

Gladio had expected the drive to Regis’ estate to be filled with questions from Prompto. After all the kid could hardly shut up normally, and sometimes Gladio wondered how Noctis who was so quiet most of the time could stand all that talking. But Prompto was a good person, Gladio knew that much. He did appreciate the fact that Prompto had helped Noctis to a better place.

But the ride was surprisingly silent, and Gladio found himself carrying any bit of conversation they held. Prompto only answered shortly to whatever Gladio said. It was obvious he was nervous, he had been fidgeting in the seat since the very second they had started driving.

Once they arrived and Gladio parked his car, Prompto seemed to not know what to do. He was anxiously looking out the window as he gripped at his seatbelt.

“Prompto, _relax_ ,” Gladio groaned and reached out to undo the seat belt for him, “It’s going to be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Prompto muttered as he took a deep breath and got out of the car.

Gladio simply sighed and got out as well. He was nice enough to put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder as they headed towards the entrance. Prompto was without a doubt internally freaking out, and who could blame him?

Meeting the parents was a scary concept even in a normal situation. Meeting the parent who was a yakuza boss while his son had been kidnapped? That was a new level of scary. Even Gladio had to admit that he didn’t really like being around Regis now because he hated seeing him so distraught.

As they entered, Gladio turned to look at Prompto again. He felt that he had gone stiff as a board.

“Listen, it’s… I get it, it’s scary as fuck,” Gladio said, trying to find a way to reassure the other without coming off as an insensitive ass, “I’m on edge too about Noct and Iggy being gone, and I get that you’re scared of being here, but right now Regis just cares about finding his son again. He’s a _father_ looking for his _child_. Try to not think of him too much as some scary yakuza boss, alright?”

Prompto took a deep breath and nodded stiffly, “Sure. Just a father. In control over one of the largest criminal families in the _world_. And I’m the last person who saw his son. Totally cool. He’s gonna _love_ that.”

Gladio rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything, instead pushing him forward. Some guards gave them questioning looks once Gladio entered Regis' private wing of the estate since he was bringing a stranger there, but he just stubbornly glared at anyone who seemed to be about to question him.

And no one dared to say anything, so eventually he came to a halt in front of Regis' door, and he was just about to knock when Prompto grabbed his arm.

“What is it now?”

“I just… what if… should I be doing anything?” Prompto asked anxiously, “Like, do I bow? Do I say something? Do I -,”

“By Ifrit’s flaming balls…” Gladio groaned and pulled a hand over his face. He was far too tired for this, “Just _relax_ and be yourself. I mean it, no one is going to judge you or -,”

“But everyone has been staring at me, I’m not supposed to be here and -,”

“Will you just _shut up_ and follow me inside?”

Gladio was about to just barge in so Prompto wouldn’t have time to freak out even more, or to ask him more questions, but just as he was about to grab the handle, someone opened up from inside. It was Regis, and he looked just about as tired as Gladio felt. If not even more.

“Gladiolus, what is… who is this?” Regis' eyes landed on Prompto.

“This, sir, is Noctis’ boyfriend,” Gladio said and squeezed Prompto’s shoulder, “Prompto Argentum. He’s the last one who saw Noct so I… I don’t know, I just figured I’d bring him here.”

Regis’ gaze softened a bit, “Ah, come in, both of you.”

He stepped back and allowed them into his study. Clarus was leaning against the wall, frowning as he watched Gladio enter with Prompto. He was about to push himself away from the wall when Regis held up his hand, making him stop.

“Who is-,”

“It is Noctis’ boyfriend,” Regis said and turned to face Prompto once he had closed the door. He bowed his head slightly in greeting, “It’s nice to finally meet you, I have heard many great things about you from Noctis. I just… I wish it was under different circumstances.”

“N-nice to meet you, too, sir!” Prompto more or less squeaked as he bowed deeply.

It was a ridiculously deep bow, Gladio realized, but he was at least impressed that Prompto even had managed to speak.

"Please, rise," Regis offered a strained smile as Prompto straightened up, "No need for that."

Prompto managed to stutter out a quiet "Okay, sir," before Regis headed over to his desk and sat down. 

“I take it you found no more clues?” 

Gladio shook his head, “No. Noctis' apartment is clean, Ignis’ too. I didn’t get a chance to double-check his place, but -,”

“I do not think there is a need for that,” Regis said tiredly, “They must have been taken where we found the cars. I know you want to find them as much as I do, Gladiolus, but you need to take a moment to rest, too.”

“Says the man who haven’t slept a minute during night,” Clarus muttered, earning himself a mild glare from Regis, but he did let it go.

“With all due respect, but I can’t exactly just sit on my ass and do nothing,” Gladio grunted, “Is Cor around? Figured he’d want to hear what Prompto got to say.”

“U-uhm,” Prompto cleared his throat, “What exactly am I supposed to say? I already said I didn’t see anything out of place or… it was just… it was just a date. We said bye around 8 or 9, then he left a-and we were supposed to meet today but he didn’t answer his messages! Th-that’s all there is to it!”

Prompto covered his face with his hands and took a shaky breath, shaking his head, “I’m… I’m s-sorry.”

Gladio wasn’t sure who he was apologizing to, but Regis seemed to take pity on him.

“Please, take a seat,” Regis said softly, “There is no need to apologize. You do not know any more than we do at this time, Mr Argentum.”

Gladio nodded in agreement and pushed Prompto down into a chair. He could feel that the other was trembling. Poor guy had probably not had time to properly process just how bad things were, and the gravity of the situation was most likely sinking in.

“Clarus, did you say Cor was on his way?”

“Yes,” Clarus said shortly, “He mentioned something about a delivery. He wanted to have it checked before bringing it over. He should be here any minute.”

Gladio frowned. Lately, deliveries hadn’t been good news.

“Gladiolus, _please_ , would you also take a seat?” Regis asked, rubbing his temples, “It’s enough with one stubborn Amicitia who won’t listen to me.”

At that Prompto looked up, glancing from Gladio to Clarus who just looked at Regis with an unimpressed look on his face.

“Yeah, that’s my old man,” Gladio confirmed as he took a seat next to Prompto, “Looking after the Caelums is a family thing.”

If only he had his own Caelum to look after. The thought left him bitter.

“Oh,” Prompto quietly said, staring down at the table in front of him.

“So, the last time you -,”

Regis was cut off as the door to his study opened up, and Cor stepped in with a grim look on his face. He was carrying a wooden box in his arms, holding it so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

“Sorry for… it’s…” he trailed off and took a deep breath. He was obviously disturbed by something, “Delivery from Niflheim, we assume.”

The atmosphere in the room immediately went tense, and Gladio looked over at Regis. There was a look switching between hope and dread on his face. Niflheim’s deliveries hadn’t been good before, but maybe it’d be better than what he had heard from Izunia over the phone. 

“Cor… what do you know?” 

“Not much,” Cor said, “I… I had security make sure it was safe. No… no toxins or explosives. But…”

“But…?”

“Sh-should I really be here?” Prompto askednervously, “Uh, j-just -,”

“You know that Noctis is gone,” Regis said, eyes still on the box in Cor’s hands, “You might as well remain. I’d like for you to talk to Cor anyway, after this. Anything can be of help at this point.” 

Cor frowned as he looked over at Prompto, he had apparently not seen the extra addition in the room, too caught up in whatever the delivery was.

Gladio took a deep breath and pushed himself up as Cor approached Regis and put the box on the table. Both Gladio and Clarus headed up to stand behind Regis, Cor standing slightly to the side of the desk. Prompto remained in his seat, staring at them nervously.

“I guess there is only one way to find out,” Regis took a deep breath.

As Regis reached out to open the box, Clarus cleared his throat.

“What is it now, Clarus?” Regis sighed tiredly, “Cor said that it’s been checked.”

“You never know,” Clarus said gruffly and pushed Regis hands away, “Let me open it, just in case.”

“He’s right,” Cor said seriously, “We cannot be careful enough. I would have opened it myself, but… not without your permission.”

In the end Regis just held up his hands in surrender, leaning back in his chair, staring at the box as Clarus reached out and unhooked the mechanism keeping it closed.

Gladio almost wanted to do it himself because it felt as if time was moving agonizingly slowly as Clarus opened the box. Once it was open it didn’t appear to be anything dangerous in it. In the box there was a piece of paper with just two handwritten lines of text.

_A generous gift from me to you, Regis, since you did not believe we had him._

_Ardyn Izunia_

Regis gritted his teeth as he lifted the piece of paper, but what was underneath it made his face drain of color and the anger was replaced with fear. A sole finger lied in the box, and of course it _could_ have been anyone’s, but it was wearing the very same ring Noctis had been wearing lately. 

Gladio felt his stomach twist and he brought a hand to his mouth, just staring in horror. Cor and Clarus exchanged glances above Regis’ head, not looking much better than Gladio was feeling.

“They have my son,” Regis said, his voice wavering as he stared into the box, “They really do have him.”

“We’ll get him back,” Clarus said, voice strained, but there was a hint of uncertainty in it, “Both Noctis and Ignis.” 

In the background Gladio noticed Prompto getting up from his chair, obviously not able to stand the tension any longer. Gladio was about to shove him away, knowing that the young man didn’t need to see what was in the box, but Prompto had anticipated it and ducked underneath Gladio’s arm, coming up right behind Regis with a clear view of the box and its content. 

“Th-that’s…” he gasped, eyes widening, “Noct’s ring? Oh Gods. Oh Gods, don’t tell me that’s… That isn’t _his_ finger, is it? Please tell me it isn’t -,”

“Kid, come on,” Gladio said, his voice rough as he placed his hands on Prompto’s shoulders, “Let’s -,”

“Please, it’s just, it’s someone with th-the same ring, it’s not-,”

“ _Prompto_ , come on,” Gladio urged and physically started pulling Prompto backwards, towards the door.

“N-Noct hasn’t done anything wrong, he doesn’t even like the yakuza, w-why would someone take  _him_? Why would they do something like -,”

“We’re taking a walk,” Gladio said hurriedly and forced Prompto out of the room.

He had to get him out of there before he had a breakdown. Regis seemed to be on the edge of one as well, and Prompto breaking down in there wouldn’t do anyone any good.

“I’m going to be sick, Gladio, I’m g-going to -,”

“Just a bit further,” Gladio had to more or less drag Prompto the last bit to Noctis’ old room. Once they entered there, he pushed Prompto into the bathroom.

Prompto’s legs went out just in front of the toilet, and then he threw up.

Gladio stood there for a while, staring. He himself felt sick. Not because it was a severed finger, he had seen way worse than that, but because it was _Noctis’_ finger.

Gladio leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath as he tried to tune out the sounds of Prompto crying while throwing up. He just couldn't bring himself to leave the room.

“I’ll get them back,” he said after a while, his voice raw with emotion, “I’ll get them back if it’s the last damned thing I do, Prompto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I've been quite busy with university (and I've not been in the best place, mentally) so it took a while to finish this! But hope it was worth the wait!  
> I feel as if everyone are upset in this story now... except Ardyn. He's having the time of his life.
> 
> I'm so happy by the response so far, both for the entire story, and for last chapter! You guys sure are invested in this story, and I'm glad I've been able to create something that people enjoy, and I hope I'll be able to keep doing that! So thank you so so so much for all the comments, kudos and just for reading this story!
> 
> And thanks to my lovely girlfriend who's a great support and beta reader. Wouldn't be nearly as comfortable uploading this without her help!


	12. The stubborn

Noctis took a deep breath as he tried to shift. He had woken up and wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep, but he really had to get up and pee, but he couldn’t really move a lot.

“Prompto…” Noctis murmured as he pushed weakly against Prompto’s chest. His arms were heavy around him, keeping him from getting up, “Prom, I gotta…”

Noctis trailed off as he opened his eyes. For a moment he stopped breathing, when he realized that it wasn’t Prompto he was pressed up against. It was Ignis, and he was holding him in a surprisingly tight embrace.

Reality hit him, making him shudder. For a moment he had thought that it was all a nightmare, but the dull throbbing in his hand reminded him of the fact that his finger had been cut off, and that they were still in captivity.

Noctis squirmed a bit, trying to push himself back a bit to get a proper look on Ignis’ face. At least Ignis was _finally_ asleep. Noctis had woken up from his slumber a couple of times, and Ignis had been awake all of them despite looking terribly exhausted.

_Maybe I can just hold it in. So he can sleep._

But his bladder was really not agreeing with Noctis’ mind, and he couldn’t help twisting around a bit more to try and ease the pressure of his bladder. But the constant moving around seemed to rouse Ignis from his sleep.

“Noct…?”

“Just going to the bathroom,” Noctis whispered, “Go back to sleep, Specs.”

The embrace eased up a bit, and he slipped out of Ignis’ arms and stumbled his way over to the bathroom. He grimaced over the fact that the door had been unhinged and removed, but his bladder was about to burst and he knew that Ignis wasn’t looking. They were lucky that they even had been moved to a room with a toilet, and that they weren’t forced to piss or shit in a bucket. That would have been a new level of humiliation.

Noctis took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to think of something completely different as he relieved himself. Thankfully it didn’t take a lot to get past the mental barrier, and soon enough he was done and after washing his hands he headed back.

He slipped back onto the mattress and couldn’t help shuffling up close to Ignis again. It was chilly in the room, and he couldn’t deny that it was comforting being close to him.

“How long?” Ignis murmured, his eyes were still closed.

“Dunno,” Noctis shrugged, “Just woke up because I had to use the bathroom.”

“Still tired?”

“I don’t know,” Noctis admitted quietly and buried his fingers in Ignis’ shirt, “I don’t know, Ignis… I don’t know anything right now.” 

Ignis opened his eyes and looked at Noctis. For a moment they just stared at each other, but eventually Ignis sighed and wrapped an arm around Noctis, pulling him in even closer. It made Noctis feel protected and cared for, at least as much as he could in their situation. Noctis doubted anyone cared about him as much as Ignis did, overlooking his father and Prompto. 

“You should try and get some more sleep,” Ignis murmured, “Who knows when we’ll have some peace and quiet again…”

“I just… I feel as if I’m going to wake up to someone dragging me or you away,” Noctis murmured and stared at the spot where his fingers were digging into Ignis’ shirt, “Do you think they know by now?”

“Yes, of course,” Ignis frowned, “Izunia did say that he had established contact with your father. After all, that’s why he…”

Ignis trailed off and the silence was heavy in the air. In the end Noctis was the one who had to speak up and pick up the conversation.

“Why he cut off my fucking finger,” Noctis said bluntly, “You can say it, you know.”

“It’s just… I don’t like having to think of it,” Ignis took a deep breath, “It’s just all the more proof that I couldn’t protect you, Noctis.”

“At this point I feel as if it’s pretty safe to say that I don’t blame you. You aren’t in a position to protect me since I was the one who royally fucked us over. And I understand why you’re pissed off at me for doing what I did,” Noctis murmured. He could feel Ignis tensing up, probably feeling guilty about how he had snapped at Noctis earlier. But he had been right all along, “Specs… I’m just saying that you were right.”

“I wouldn’t say that I am _angry_ with you, Noct… I’m just disappointed.”

Noctis let out a laugh and buried his face in Ignis’ chest.

“That’s even worse,” Noctis closed his eyes, “Sorry that you have to deal with such a shitty charge.”

Ignis sighed heavily, “I wouldn’t want to look after any other, Noct.”

“Say that again when we’ve ended up on the bottom of a lake,” Noctis murmured.

“Noctis, let’s not -,”

“Just kidding,” Noctis said quickly, not looking to get into an argument about it, “Let’s just… sleep a bit more.”

“I… you are right.”

Noctis was about to say goodnight, but he honestly had no idea what the time was. His initial guess was early morning, but it didn’t really matter now. And since when had time mattered to him at all when it came to sleep? Before, he had been able to sleep away both nights and days without caring. It was strange how he suddenly did care about something as trivial as the time now.

For a while he considered started to count the seconds, but in the end he pressed his ear to Ignis’ chest, counting his heartbeats instead.

It didn’t take too long until he was lulled back to sleep, comforted by the sound of Ignis’ heart steadily beating.

* * *

 

Prompto groaned in frustration as he turned in bed for possibly the 10th time in just a handful of minutes. He had remained at the mansion that was the Caelum syndicate’s headquarters, and Noctis’ old home. Gladio had said that it was for protection, but Prompto knew that it was more than that. Since he was the last person who had seen Noctis he was an important witness, even if he hadn’t seen anything interesting. Perhaps he was even a suspect to them, but if that was the case then they were all doing a good job of hiding it. 

The evening before had been traumatizing to say the least. He had found out that Noctis involvement in the yakuza was way bigger than he could have imagined, and he had seen Noctis’ severed finger. At least Gladio had been a great support as Prompto had clung to the toilet, throwing up. The entire afternoon and evening was a bit of a daze. Gladio had been there and talked quite a bit, but Prompto couldn’t recall a lot more than his emotions. The fear and anxiety. He had fallen asleep out of sheer emotional exhaustion.

Now he was lying in Noctis’ bed, in Noctis’ room. A room Noctis had used before he had moved out into his own apartment. And the room just felt sad. Sad and empty. There was hardly anything ‘Noctis’ about the room at all, perhaps because it was so empty. Then again, his apartment didn’t have a lot of personality, but at least Noctis’ bedroom had a bit of character. It at least felt as if he could connect it to Noctis.

“Noct…” Prompto said quietly, staring up into the ceiling, “Where are you?”

_Are you even alive?_

He didn’t dare asking himself that out loud.

Prompto closed his eyes and tried to force the image of Noctis’ finger in that box out of his mind. But when he tried he just seemed to imagine worse things. Images of Noctis’ body was flashing through his mind. Noctis’ heavily _mutilated_ body. It was images he wished that his mind would stop conjuring up on its own.

Perhaps it would have been for the best to just go back to sleep, but he had already woken up once thanks to nightmares about Noctis being dead, and since then he hadn’t been able to go back to sleep.

With a grimace he grabbed his phone and pressed the home button, squinting as the light from the screen blinded him.

4:47 AM, the screen said. And behind the letters there was an image of him and Noctis. They looked happy. Carefree. In love.

Prompto took a shaky breath and pushed himself out of the bed. He couldn’t go back to sleep. Not when he knew that his boyfriend was _somewhere_ and had gotten his finger cut off. Suffering. Probably scared out of his mind. If Prompto was scared, then Noctis had to be terrified.

After wandering around in circles in the open space of Noctis’ room, Prompto decided that it wasn’t enough. He felt trapped and if he didn’t get to move more freely he was going to have another breakdown, and he really didn’t want to start hyperventilating _again_ , especially not now that he didn’t have Gladio around.

He swallowed and opened the door with a shaky hand, glancing around before taking a left and just started walking. He wasn’t sure where he was walking, but anything that gave him something new to see and think about was good.

At one point he almost ran into a man who for a moment had looked ready to attack him, but he soon relaxed his stance, not saying anything as he just eyed Prompto. As he walked past, Prompto could almost swear he heard the man murmur something. Maybe letting someone else know he was out of the room, but he did at least not seem to be in trouble, so he kept walking.

When he had been walking around and taking random paths for a couple of minutes he was about to come to a stop to turn around and head back, but a couple of voices further ahead made him stop.

“I’m at my wits end, Clarus.”

Prompto’s eyes widened a bit. That voice belonged to Regis. It probably meant that Prompto was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, but he couldn’t help quietly approaching, sneaking a peek from where he was pressing himself against a wall.

He had been right. Regis and Clarus were standing in the open area ahead, their backs turned towards Prompto as both seemed to look out a window.

“We’ll find Noctis, and Ignis,” Clarus said and put a hand on Regis’ shoulder, “I swear, love.”

“I was just sent a piece of my son. Yes, we might find them, but will it be in time?” Regis asked, sounding pained as he turned to face Clarus, “When we find them… will it be in pieces? At the bottom of a lake? In the trunk of a car, or buried alive -,”

“Love, calm down,” Clarus said calmly and moved his hand from Regis’ shoulder, putting it against his cheek, “Please.”

“I am calm.”

There was a certain stubborn yet childish tone to Regis’ voice, something that reminded Prompto of Noctis.

“No, you are far from calm,” Clarus muttered, “Speculating will not help.”

Then Clarus leaned forward and _kissed_ Regis.

At that very moment Prompto realized that he had walked in on something _very_ private. Of course it had been private even before the kiss, but at that point he had just hoped to hear news about Noctis. Not see the two older men sharing an intimate moment. He should probably have turned around to leave the moment he had heard voices, but curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Quietly Prompto tried to head back the way he had come from, trying to just ignore what he had seen. He had overstepped, and it was probably best to just forget it.

Thankfully he soon stopped thinking about it, but instead he came to the horrible conclusion that he had no idea how the hell he was supposed to get back. He had not paid attention to where he had been walking earlier, and now he was most definitely lost, unable to find his way back to Noctis’ room.

“Just great, Prompto,” he told himself bitterly, “You’re such a fucking idiot, getting lost in a huge stupid mansion with no way of finding your way back, what did you think!?”

“Perhaps you didn’t think at all.”

Prompto had to clamp both of his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming as he whipped around, coming face to face with the man who had been in Regis’ office earlier. Cor.

“Argentum, right?” Cor asked and Prompto nodded, eyes still wide, “You are quite lucky that I found you. What are you doing wandering around at this time? It’s only 4 in the morning.”

“I c-couldn’t sleep,” Prompto admitted, “I woke up and I just… I had to move, alright? Restless energy, I guess, but then I got lost and I didn’t… I just… I can’t find my way back to Noctis’ room…”

Cor stared into his eyes silently, and Prompto really wanted to look away but he couldn’t. The stare was really intense, and he wondered if Cor ever was going to blink or stop staring. After what felt like an eternity the man sighed heavily and _finally_ stopped staring at him like that. It had almost felt as if he had tried to stare into the depths of Prompto’s soul.

“Since you’re up, do you mind having a word? We never had a chance to speak yesterday considering…” Cor trailed off and Prompto shivered. Part of him was glad that Cor left it unsaid. It was enough knowing it. He didn’t need to hear it as well, “I’ve been busy all night. I was just going to take a quick nap and keep working, but I’d honestly rather talk this out now and have it out of the way.”

“S-sure, that’s fine.”

“Alright, good,” Cor said with a nod and turned around, “Follow me. I’ll show you back to Noctis’ room later.”

Prompto didn’t reply as he started following Cor. He wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something about the man that scared Prompto. It was hard getting a read on him, but it was obvious that he was someone who was very loyal to Regis and the Caelum family.

Perhaps that was why it scared him. If he was working directly beneath Regis, it had to mean that Cor also was a big deal within the yakuza. Prompto wasn’t sure he wanted to know what kind of work Cor was doing for Regis. It was probably best to just not ask.

“Here,” Cor suddenly said and opened up a door, letting Prompto into an empty office, “You can sit down in front of the desk.”

“Okay,” Prompto quietly said and did as he was told.

Soon enough Cor was sitting in front of him, a notepad open and pen in his hand. Prompto couldn’t help frowning as he glanced at the laptop that was just next to Cor.

“Notes on paper are safer,” Cor commented, as if he had read Prompto’s mind, “As I’m sure you understand… this is a very delicate situation.”

“Y-yeah,” Prompto nodded, “I get that.”

“You’re Noctis’ boyfriend, correct?”

“Since a while back, yeah,” Prompto murmured, “I’ve known him since like… February.”

“I know,” Cor said as he jotted something down in his notepad, “We’re always watching Noctis, and we’ve done a background check on you already. We couldn’t really find anything suspicious about you… overlooking the lack of records on your biological parents.”

Prompto felt sick. He shouldn’t have been surprised that they had done a background check on him, but it still felt a bit invasive. And he didn’t really like to talk about his family, or rather lack thereof. He knew _nothing_ of his biological family. He had been adopted by the Argentums when he was a toddler. And to be fair, they were hardly part of his life any longer either. They had never taken much of an interest in him.

“Sorry, can’t help you about that,” Prompto said quietly, “Guess they just never wanted me in their lives.”

“Considering you were adopted at such a young age I don’t see why that should be a problem,” Cor said thoughtfully, “What I mainly wanted to talk about was the fact that you were the last one to see Noctis. What did you do that day? Did you notice anything out of place?”

“N-no, I already told Gladio that I didn’t see anything!” Prompto exclaimed in frustration, “He picked me up, we went to see a movie, and… there was a lot of people out that day. It’s really hard to pick up on something weird when you don’t know what’s supposed to be weird.”

“Well, what about the times?”

“Uh, we… I think we left around 5 for the movie… and he dropped me off at home between 8 and 9 PM,” Prompto’s shoulders slumped down. He wish he remembered more details. He had gone through the entire day several times in his mind, but he just couldn’t think of anything weird or strange, “That’s… it’s what I told them as well. I texted him goodnight around midnight but he never replied… that’s strange for being Noct, but I thought that maybe he was busy with his essay or that he had fallen asleep early…”

Cor hummed quietly, still taking notes.

“So you didn’t notice any cars or such following you?”

“Overlooking the Regalia, no,” Prompto confirmed, “B-but that was Ignis, right?”

“Yes.”

Prompto tapped his fingers against the wooden armrest. He was starting to feel the restlessness and anxiety come forward again. The sound of Cor writing just made him feel more nervous. He wasn’t sure how Cor had so much to write down based on the little information Prompto had been able to supply him with.

Perhaps he wasn’t writing about that, but was taking notes about Prompto? Maybe he really was a suspect.

“U-uhm, Mr…”

“Leonis,” Cor said shortly, not even looking up from his notes, “Cor Leonis.” 

“Mr Leonis… is there anything I can do to help?”

“Unless you remember something more, I do not think so.”

“Oh, okay…” Prompto trailed off and squirmed in the chair. He wasn’t sure why he still was there, “Sorry for not being able to help more.”

Cor looked up and raised an eyebrow, “Only giving us these time frames is extremely helpful. Do not sell yourself short. Thanks to this we know what times to check on security footage that I’m trying to get my hands on. Spares us from having to go through more than necessary. It’s more information than we had before Gladiolus brought you here.”

“O-okay.”

“Well… there’s no point keeping you up here,” Cor sighed heavily and pushed himself up. Prompto realized that he looked exhausted. Then again, _everyone_ seemed to be running on fumes, “I’ll take you back to Noctis’ room.”

“Am I… am I going to be kept here?”

“It’s safest here,” Cor pointed out, “But we won’t hold you against your will. I don’t know what you’ve heard about this family, but we try to not do things that way. You will however be assigned security.”

“Th-that’s not really necessary.”

“I’m afraid everyone insists,” Cor said, there was a finality to his voice, “Now, let’s get you back.”

Prompto sighed and nodded. Cor didn’t seem to be the kind of person who’d back down, and he had a feeling the security was both to protect Prompto _and_ to keep an eye on him in general.

For now he’d just have to accept it.

* * *

“Regis…” Clarus murmured, finally breaking the silence that had been hanging heavily in the room for the past half hour.

Regis closed his eyes as he felt Clarus’ hands gently massage his shoulders. He had been tense ever since Noctis disappeared, but feeling Clarus steady him up made him relax a bit, and he let himself fall back against Clarus’ chest. The other quickly moved his arms, instead wrapping them around Regis’ waist, holding him firmly.

“I’m tired,” Regis said quietly and placed one of his hands on top of Clarus’ hands, “So tired.”

“You need sleep,” Clarus insisted and kissed a bit of exposed skin on Regis’ neck, “Burning yourself out as we look for Noctis isn’t going to help.”

Regis nodded thoughtfully. Maybe sleep wouldn’t be too bad. Just a couple of hours. Cor was still working, and he knew that he’d call the moment he knew more. If he’d find out more. Ardyn hadn’t exactly left them any information or terms, neither in the phone call nor along with Noctis’ finger. They had looked for clues in the box, but there was nothing more than the finger and the paper with Ardyn’s very short message.

“Come on,” Clarus said softly and started moving, pulling Regis with him, “Let’s go.”

Regis sighed but he let Clarus steer him away, back towards the bedroom. They walked the empty halls in silence, only their footsteps and breathing echoing around them. The estate felt big and empty despite the amount of people who resided in and around it. But Regis’ own wing of the house? That was empty. Ever since Noctis had moved out it had felt less like home, and more like just his workplace.

But Clarus made it feel a bit more like home whenever he stayed. Lately that had been more often than not, something that he felt both relieved and guilty about.

“Stand still,” Clarus said. A request or a demand, Regis wasn’t sure, but he did stand still.

From there on Clarus started to undress Regis, removing the yukata he had been wearing. It was a routine by now, Clarus had done it before. He removed the layers with care, folding them and putting them away. He didn’t stop until Regis was completely naked, then he nodded and Regis finally turned around and headed to the bed. He slipped in underneath the covers and stared at Clarus who started to undress as well.

First he removed his jacket, and the gun holsters underneath followed. But Regis knew that he’d take the guns with him to bed. He’d place one in the nightstand, and the other one on the floor underneath the bed, just in case something would happen. After that he removed the rest of his clothes, neatly folding them and putting them on a chair next to Regis’ clothes.

“It’s beautiful,” Regis murmured, his eyes travelling over the tattoo covering Clarus’ back. It covered most of his body, but he liked the back piece the most.

“You keep saying that,” Clarus said, sounding slightly amused as he turned to face Regis, “The man who picked the motif had quite exquisite taste.”

Regis smiled upon hearing that. It was probably the first time he had genuinely smiled since hearing about what had happened to Noctis.

“Really? You must be very thankful to him.”

Clarus snorted as he grabbed the guns, and as Regis suspected he did place one in the nightstand, and one slightly beneath Regis’ bed. Then he finally slipped in underneath the covers along with Regis and wrapped his arms around him.

“I definitely am. I hope he knows just how grateful I am for everything he has given me.”

Regis smiled and shifted, turning onto his side so he was facing Clarus.

“He knows, and he is just as grateful to you for always standing by his side,” Regis murmured and traced a finger over Clarus’ chest, drawing patterns over the tattooed area, “I couldn’t do this without you, Clarus. I need you. Especially now.”

“I’m always here for you. And I won’t leave your side until we’ve solved this,” Clarus promised, “Not even after, of course, but I meant that I am staying in this mansion with you -,”

“But Iris -,”

“She’ll… she’ll understand,” Clarus sighed, “She’s got Jared to look after her… and there are men stationed around the house. She’s safe.”

“But it won’t replace her father,” Regis said seriously, “Don’t repeat my mistakes with Noctis. I… I was so distant that I didn’t see how miserable he had become. What if I had been too late? Gods, what if I _am_ too late?”

“Don’t think like that, Regis,” Clarus wrapped an arm around Regis, “You’re going to tear yourself apart.”

“Perhaps that’s what I deserve,” Regis said bitterly, “Neither Noctis nor Ignis deserves this. Noctis has been trying his best to avoid this life, and Ignis… Gods, Ignis is just… I feel personally responsible for him joining this family. If his parents were alive, I’m sure they’d feel the same way.”

Noctis and Ignis were paying for something they hadn’t done. Regis wasn’t even sure _why_ , and that just made things worse. He wanted to know _why_ his son had been taken, and why he hadn’t received any kind of instructions on what to do to get him back. What did Izunia want? There had to be _something_ , and the sooner he knew, the sooner he could get Noctis and Ignis back.

At least he hoped so.

“I know that it’s hard, but you need to sleep,” Clarus murmured after a while. Perhaps he could sense just how hard Regis was thinking, “If not for yourself or me, then for Noctis.”

Regis took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was a bit of a low blow, but at the same time he knew that Clarus was right.

He’d hardly be able to look for Noctis if he didn't take care of himself.

Clarus was exactly what he needed at a time like this, he was a voice of reason in the midst of all the chaos in Regis' mind.

* * *

Ignis was starting to get closer and closer to a breakdown. 

He and Noctis had both drifted off to sleep at some point earlier, only to be cruelly awoken by someone coming in and dumping a bucket of cold water over the two of them. Noctis had cursed loudly, and Ignis had tried to simply shield Noctis behind him as the intruding men had tried to grab for both of them.

In the end Ignis had been more or less wrestled down onto the floor as someone else had grabbed Noctis and forced him out of the room. No one had said a single word, overlooking Noctis and Ignis who both had been yelling at them to stop. But it hadn’t worked. They had simply taken Noctis and after a while the men who had been holding Ignis down dragged him over to the chair and tied him to it.

Now he had been sitting there for what he guessed was a couple of hours. It was hard to tell when there were no windows or any watches around. Of course that wouldn’t make it much better, things were still terrible but knowing what time it was would have been a bit of a comfort to Ignis.

He would have been pacing around if it weren’t for the fact that he was tied to that damned chair. All he could do was impatiently tapping his feet and count seconds. But what point was there to counting the seconds when he kept having to start over because of the thoughts rushing through his mind?

Even if Ignis knew it was awful, he tried to think of the fact that Ardyn didn’t seem to want to kill Noctis right away. He just hoped that he wouldn’t be too badly hurt. Perhaps it was just a bit of questioning. Maybe Noctis had even been released, perhaps Regis had come to some kind of agreement with Ardyn.

Not that it was likely.

Ignis was in the middle of yet another terrible scenario (of Noctis facing torture) when the door _finally_ opened up again, and Noctis was shoved into the room, sending him falling onto the floor. The door was slammed shut and locked behind Noctis right away.

Ignis felt a bit of relief upon squinting and looking over to Noctis. He was moving, that was something.

“Noctis, are you alright? What did they do?”

Noctis didn’t say anything, which was concerning to Ignis. Instead he just pushed himself up from the floor and headed into the bathroom. From where Ignis was sitting he couldn’t see Noctis, but he could hear the water running.

“Noctis?”

He tried calling a couple of more times, but Noctis didn’t reply. And once he did reappear he stumbled over to another corner of the room and slumped down on the floor, not even sitting down on the mattress. He also hardly looked at Ignis

“Noctis…” Ignis repeated, and he wished he could get up and head over to get a closer look on him.

His sight was blurred thanks to the lack of glasses, but it looked as if Noctis was sitting in fetal position with his arms wrapped around his legs, head resting against his knees.

“Noctis, please…” Ignis pleaded from where he sat, “Noctis, what did they… could you come over here?”

For a while Noctis didn’t answer, but he did take a deep breath before exhaling and speaking.

“Give me a moment."

Ignis didn’t really want to wait, but he didn’t have much of a choice. And he had no idea what Noctis had been through. The least he could do was to give him the time he needed so he fidgeted in the chair for quite a while until Noctis finally got up from the floor on shaky legs and headed over to Ignis.

It took a while for Noctis to untie him considering he lacked a finger and most of his right hand was wrapped, making it harder, but after a couple of minutes the knots were undone and Ignis could get himself out of it from there on.

Noctis didn’t say anything, he simply headed back to where he had been sitting before, and Ignis followed him, too concerned to leave him alone.

“Noctis, I… I _need_ to know what happened.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Noctis -,”

“Let it go, Specs”

“Please, Noctis, how am I supposed to pro -,”

“You can’t!” Noctis snapped, “Don’t you get it? You can’t fucking protect me in here! It’s pointless! No matter what you do, Ardyn is going to… he’s going to… he _will_ do what he wants to do. He won’t let you stop him. Or me. Or _anyone_.”

Ignis’ eyes widened a bit at the sudden outburst. His eyes roamed over Noctis’ face, and he didn’t like the fact that Noctis’ eyes looked red and puffy, as if he had been crying. And part of his face looked as if it was about to start bruising.

He reached out and touched the skin but Noctis pulled his face away and averted his gaze from Ignis' searching eyes. He just wanted answers from Noctis, but he knew that once Noctis made up his mind it was hard to make him talk. Perhaps Prompto would have been able to do something, but Ignis wasn’t Prompto.

“Noctis… I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened.”

"It's unfair.”

“Excuse me?”

"I've tried to get away from this for most of my life, yet here I am," Noctis sounded bitter as he spoke, "Mom was killed because of it. I almost died because of it. And now I might die, and you too. It's unfair, I didn't choose this life. I don't want any part of it but I have no choice."

Ignis sighed. A complete change of subject, not that he could blame Noctis for the way he felt.

“Life isn’t known to be fair.”

Noctis took another deep breath and leaned his head back against the wall. He looked exhausted.

"Have you ever killed someone, Specs?"

The question caught Ignis slightly off-guard and he froze up, staring at Noctis. They had never talked much about the yakuza business because Noctis clearly didn't like it. But now he was the one initiating the talk. Ignis hadn't expected him to ask such a blunt question, though.

"I... yes, I have."

Both Ignis and Gladio had killed for the family. Not something they had enjoyed, but they had been in a situation that had called for it, leaving them no choice.

And for Regis that had been proof that the two of them could take a life if they had to. Making them even more fitting to protect Noctis since he could trust that they could kill if it meant keeping Noctis safe, too.

"How do you do it?" Noctis asked heavily, "I have a gun in my room and I hate the thought of it even being there, I can hardly _hold_ it. How do you _chose_ to step into a life like this when you could have just... just been an ordinary person?"

Ignis sighed, "I could have, but like you... both Gladio and I have ties to the family through our relatives. Could I have done something else? Yes, of course... but..."

"But?"

"Both my parents died because of Niflheim, back in the day," Ignis commented, "Your father promised me justice, and he delivered it. After that I decided that I wanted to serve him. Meeting people like you and Gladio have made it even more worthwhile. I know it's a dangerous life, but I also know that your father cares deeply about those close to him. He's a respectable man, Noctis."

"A respectable _criminal_ man," Noctis murmured, "I love Dad but I just... Ignis, I'm not fucking stupid. I know about the illegal activities. I know the yakuza can make people disappear, and even if it's not my Dad overlooking all of it personally... he's still in charge and _knows_."

"To be fair, the Caelum syndicate has been a lot less violent since your father took over after your grandfather, Noct."

“I know you’re trying to make me feel better about it, but it’s not really working. It’s still… Ignis, it’s so _big_.”

“Noctis, your father is a good man, never doubt that -,”

“Still a criminal.”

Ignis sighed heavily. Sometimes Noctis could be really stubborn and childish about things, it was a trait he surely had inherited from his father. Not that anyone would dare say that to Regis’ face.

“I am not denying that there are criminal activities… some of which I don’t think your father is proud of, but you must keep in mind that he has managed to change the entire syndicate for the better. If you think it is bad now… do you have any idea how it was under your grandfather’s rule? Or your _great_ grandfather?”

“Do _you_?”

“Yes, I do,” Ignis said, staring into Noctis’ eyes, “We’re talking involvement in everything from drugs to human trafficking back then. Thanks to your father none of those are allowed within the syndicate. He’s _helping_ people, too.”

“If he’s so good then why were we taken?” Noctis asked desperately, “Why does Ardyn have such a huge fucking grudge against Dad if he hasn’t done something horrible? Why do I gotta take this shit for something I didn’t have part of? Why does he want to put me through hell and back to make Dad pay?!”

“I cannot answer that, Noctis,” Ignis said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Noctis said quietly and gritted his teeth, “There’s no point being sorry now. It’s just going to get _worse_. He told me so.”

“Noctis… I’m going to ask you one final time, what happened?”

“You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

Ignis shook his head. He wasn’t sure if he felt relief or not when Noctis finally sighed in defeat and shrugged.

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you once I’m done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, sorry for the very long wait! As I've mentioned my mental health haven't been the greatest (and I'm graduating from university in less than two months, so... you know, lot of shit to get done), so this took some time to finish!
> 
> ANYWAY HERE WE ARE. I did add Regis and Clarus as a background pairing since a lot of people seemed to like that (I have a really weak spot for them). Also, next chapter is going to be pretty brutal (warnings come into play), so be prepared. I'll add proper warnings before the chapter so you'll know what to expect.
> 
> Thanks for all of the support, I don't think I'll ever get over how much support you guys are giving me and this story! I'll do my best to not make you guys wait so long for next chapter!  
> (And as always, a huge shout-out to my girlfriend for beta reading for me!)


	13. The second delivery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> \- **Explicit depiction of rape**
> 
> (If you can't or don't want to read it but still want to keep up with the story then you can get in touch with me and I can make a version of the chapter that does not involve that scene, I don't want anyone to expose themselves to something they'd rather not read. For private communication, go to my tumblr: [cidhighwind](http://cidhighwind.tumblr.com).)

“But I want to help!”

Gladio had to take a deep breath and close his eyes for a moment. He hadn't been in Prompto’s apartment for more than 30 minutes and he had already lost count of how many times Prompto had insisted that he wanted to help out with finding Noctis and Ignis. Gladio had turned him down firmly several times, but it wasn't getting through to Prompto. It was definitely getting on Gladio's nerves.

The only reason he even was there was because he had wanted to check on Prompto, to make sure that he was as fine as he could be considering the circumstances.

“Sorry, kid, but I really can’t let you do that,” Gladio said tiredly, “Listen, you’re just a civilian. Can’t drag you into this.”

“But Noctis is my boyfriend!” Prompto said in frustration and approached Gladio, glaring at him menacingly, "You can't just tell me to stay here and do nothing!"

If he was trying to look threatening it didn’t really work since Gladio was more than a head taller, and had a _lot_ more muscles. But at least Prompto was trying, and Gladio had to somewhat admire that even if he was beyond irritated.

“You're a _civilian_ , how many times do I have to say it?” Gladio snapped and grabbed Prompto’s arm, tugging him forward harshly, “A civilian that has _nothing_ to offer in this situation, you’ll only get in the way!”

The moment the words had escaped his mouth he almost regretted it. Prompto looked hurt. _Really_ hurt. But it didn’t change the fact that Gladio was right. Prompto was a civilian and he _would_ get in the way.

“The best thing you can do to help is to keep going on with your life,” Gladio muttered as he let go of Prompto and took a step back, “You got eyes on you though... so don’t go off doing weird shit or try to find them on your own.” 

Prompto just stared at him for a while before shaking his head and turning around to grab his camera before dropping down into his couch.

“Listen, I didn't say that to be mean, I’m just being honest,” Gladio admitted, “I have been trained. I’m _armed_ and ready to kill to get them back. If you try to help us and end up in the middle... it would compromise everything. And Noctis would never forgive me if you got hurt. He's been trying really fucking hard to keep the two of you as far away from this life as possible.”

Prompto didn’t reply or even look at him, instead he just kept fiddling with his camera, a stubborn look on his face, it looked as if he was holding back from saying something.

Gladio wasn’t sure if Prompto wanted to start screaming at him, or cry. Possibly both.

“Prompto, come on,” Gladio stepped up a bit closer and put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder, but he only pulled away without saying a word, “Really? That’s how you’re going to be?”

Prompto still refused to speak, instead he started browsing through pictures he had taken. Gladio glanced at the small display, there were a lot of pictures of Noctis flashing by. He hoped there would be more of them. He'd make sure of it.

“Fine,” Gladio shook his head and headed towards the small hallway, “Act like a fucking child if that’s what you want. I don’t have time for this shit.”

He didn’t wait for a reply before slamming the door shut, because he knew that Prompto wouldn’t say anything either way. It was for the best to leave him to brood alone.

Perhaps he shouldn’t even have gone there. It had obviously left both him and Prompto feeling shittier than before, something he hardly had thought was possible considering how awful the past days had been.

Almost four days had passed, and there was still no trace of Noctis or Ignis.

Gladio was slowly but surely losing it a bit more with each passing day. He had _almost_ punched a man for simply bumping into him. He was exhausted and everything just made him angry. It also didn’t help that all his other emotions got translated into anger. At this point he was a walking storm of fury, ready to take down anything in his way.

Unless he’d collapse of fatigue first of all.

Gladio had hardly slept since they got kidnapped. He had been slumbering the night they got taken, only having slept about 30 minutes or so at the time Clarus had called him about the situation. After he had been briefed about that he had went straight to Noctis’ apartment, and then to Ignis’ apartment to look for clues or see if someone had tried to break in. He hadn’t found anything.

He had been told to rest, but he hadn’t gone to bed after that. Instead he had spent hours just twisting around on his couch, and then pacing the apartment. When the sun had risen Gladio had left to check out the road where they had been taken. Of course there hadn’t been anything to find there either, which hadn’t been all that surprising since Cor had been the one to retrieve the cars. And Cor wasn’t one to overlook things, he had probably swept the entire area for clues.

Later that day he had checked the apartments _again_ , and then he had taken Prompto to the estate.

And then the delivery had arrived. Noctis’ finger.

Prompto had somehow managed to fall asleep in Noctis’ room, but Gladio himself hadn’t slept at all during that night either. He had tried but it had only resulted in an hour or two of very light slumbering. The image of Noctis’ severed finger had (and still was) stuck in his mind.

Third day had been the worst since they hadn’t had anything to go on. Some more people had been informed about the kidnapping, thus Drautos had sent out his men again. Gladio had told Nyx to tell him if he’d find anything useful, but he hadn’t received a single message that day.

And Cor, who usually was one to get information to Regis quickly, hadn’t been able to extract any useful information from the traffic cameras. Ardyn must have gotten to it first, somehow, because there was footage missing, making it impossible to tell exactly what had happened the night Noctis and Ignis were taken.

The third night Gladio actually did sleep, but only because he was exhausted.

It was now day four, soon night, he realized as he exited Prompto's apartment building and got into his car, angrily slamming the door shut as he sat down.

Prompto was stubborn, and it frustrated him to no end. Even if Gladio called Prompto kid, he was an adult, and he had to understand that he couldn't help with something so dangerous.

Gladio was so into his own little cloud of anger that the sound of his phone starting to buzz first made him want to throw it out the window. He couldn’t even have a moment of peace in his own damned car.

The only thing that made him refrain from giving in to his impulses was the fact that it could be related to Noctis and Ignis, so he fumbled around for a while before managing to pick his phone up. It read _Dad_ on the display. He felt both dread and hope every time someone from the family called him.

Worst case scenario was being told that Ignis and Noctis were dead. Best case would be that they had been found _alive_ and preferably unharmed. At least as unharmed as someone who had gotten his finger chopped off could be.

“Hey, Dad,” he grumbled, “Any news?”

_“Are you near the estate?”_

Gladio sighed and shrugged as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

“Not too far away. Just checked on Prompto,” he murmured and glanced over at Prompto’s apartment building. He could see Prompto looking out the window, “He’s really not happy about basically being placed under house arrest…”

_“It’s for his own safety. And he **is** allowed to leave, Cor simply recommended him not to go anywhere but to school. Anyway, I need you to come here right away, to Regis’ study. Izunia sent Regis a message with some coordinates. Cor went to the location and there seems to be another delivery.”_

Gladio closed his eyes and felt his stomach turn, he could only imagine more body parts. All previous thoughts of possibly having a meal were gone. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to get something down right now.

“What is it?”

_“A memory card. He’ll be here in about a quarter, you should come here too.”_

“I’ll be there,” Gladio muttered as he started the engine.

_“Just be careful. I know you’ve not gotten a lot of sleep or rest since they were taken… I don’t think anyone of us has, but you need the energy.”_

“Yeah, whatever,” Gladio sighed, “Dad, I’ll see you soon, alright?”

_“Fine.”_

With that Gladio hung up. He _knew_ that Clarus was right. He was running on fumes and he would soon have to take a moment to refuel. Otherwise he’d end up crashing, and then he’d be useless in case he was needed.

And as if that wasn’t enough, going to see Prompto had taken a huge toll on his already lacking patience.

He was on edge and wasn’t sure if he was emotionally prepared to head back to the estate for a second delivery. All he could do was to pray that it was something _normal_. Something that didn’t mean that Noctis and Ignis had suffered.

Part of him knew it was wishful thinking. If Ardyn Izunia sent one of Noctis’ fingers to Regis just like that, then he probably had no problems whatsoever with hurting the two of them. But he could always hope that the memory card contained terms or information.

“Get a grip,” he muttered to himself and took a deep breath before starting to drive.

Even if he had a bad feeling, he wanted to be there when Cor arrived.

Once he did arrive at the estate he just knocked briefly before stepping into Regis’ study. If Gladio felt exhausted it was nothing compared to how tired Regis looked, and Clarus didn’t look much better. Gladio knew he had hardly gone home, so he must have kept Regis company. Even Drautos, who was looming in a corner, looked terribly tired.

“You shouldn’t drive so fast,” Clarus scolded the moment Gladio closed the door and started approaching them, “It’s a needless risk at this point. We won’t find them faster if you are being reckless.”

“Dad, not now, _please_ ,” Gladio said tiredly, “I just had a fight with Prompto. I can’t deal with another one right now.”

Regis frowned, “What about Mr. Argentum?”

“He wants to help.”

“Ah,” Regis sighed and looked down. If Gladio felt exhausted it was nothing compared to how tired Regis looked. It almost seemed as if he had aged almost a decade the past four days, “It’s admirable, but…”

“I told him we couldn’t involve a civilian,” Gladio murmured and crossed his arms, “Especially not one with no skills that are of use to us.”

“And Noctis wouldn’t want him to be dragged into this mess,” Regis said, a bitter tone to his voice, “Even if he says he wants to help. I’m afraid he has done what he can for now. Maybe he’ll understand that one day.”

Gladio was about to answer when the door opened without any warning, and Cor walked in, making everyone snap their heads towards him, staring in expectation.

“The delivery,” Cor said, holding a memory card between his fingers, “It was the only thing we could find, nothing else was there.”

“He’s playing with us,” Gladio was seething, “The bastard is treating this like some kind of fucking game.”

“Calm yourself,” Drautos’ voice was harsh as he turned to glare at Gladio, “We don’t even know what’s on the memory card yet.”

Regis sighed and opened up his laptop before holding out his hand towards Cor who handed the memory card to him. But before Regis could attempt to put it into his own computer, Cor shook his head and opened up his bag, taking out another laptop.

“We have no idea what is on that card,” he said, “Let’s not compromise your personal computer or the network, sir.”

Cor was always being rational when the rest of them couldn’t be. Regis simply let Cor set up the new laptop on the desk, and then he finally inserted the memory card into the computer. After a couple of seconds they got access to the card, it only contained one file. A video file named proposition.mp4.

“Come here,” Regis said, a grave look on his face, “I want you all to watch this with me, in case I miss something important. It appears to be a video.”

Regis didn’t have to ask again, soon enough they were all huddled around him with a clear view of the screen. And with that Regis double-clicked the file.

The few seconds it took for the video player to start up were some of the most excruciating seconds of Gladio’s life, but even when the video did start playing he felt restless and he didn’t know what to do with himself. Just staring at the screen didn’t feel enough. He was on edge, and he felt anxious to know what was on the video.

He had to know if Noctis was okay. If Ignis was okay. He had been protecting Noctis for years, but he was more than just duty. He was a friend, even if they butted heads quite often. At the end of the day Gladio loved and cared for Noctis, as a friend. And then there was Ignis, the man he had worked next to for a couple of years. The man he had fallen in love with.

Two of the most important people in his life were kidnapped, and it felt really personal.

But of course it had to be the worst for Regis. He had dedicated so much time and resources on making sure Noctis was okay. Noctis had been the one to insist on living away from the estate, and to only have Gladio and Ignis nearby. Noctis didn’t trust people easily, and didn’t like new bodyguards to suddenly be thrown into his life. It had been alright.

Gladio doubted Noctis would trust any of them once this was over.

Suddenly there was finally movement on the screen as someone removed the lens cover and then backed away from the camera, followed by some chuckling as a table came into view. Noctis was seated on a chair by the table, and even though the quality of the video wasn’t great, it was obvious that he wasn’t doing well. HIs head was hanging, as if he didn’t have the will or energy to keep it up.

The man that walked up next to Noctis was with no doubt Ardyn Izunia. Gladio had seen the pictures.

_“There we go, all set up! Noctis, dear, smile at the camera! Don’t you want father dearest to know that you are alive and well?”_ Ardyn grabbed Noctis by his hair, yanking his head up, _“I feel a bit foolish for sending that finger. After all, that is not proof of you being alive… perhaps I should have send a video to begin with, hm? But here we are. Don’t you have anything you want to tell him?”_

Ardyn laughed and looked at the camera, yanking at Noctis’ hair again, waiting for a response.

_“Oooh, right, you got tape over your mouth! So silly of me to forget, let me help you with that, my dear,”_ he said and ripped the tape off, _“How about you tell your father what I told you to say earlier? Are you going to be a good boy?”_

Suddenly someone off-screen moved the camera a bit, and then zoomed in, getting a better look at Noctis’ face. Gladio felt his entire body tense as Noctis looked into the camera. He was bruised, looked exhausted and even if it seemed as if he was trying to keep a brave face on, he had to be terrified.

_“Dad, don’t listen to a thing he says, it’s all bullshit, he’s just -,”_ Noctis was cut off by a harsh slap, and then Ardyn slammed his face down into the table.

_“That was not what we rehearsed, Noctis. Do you feel like improvising? Because I can surely improvise as well, if that is what you wish for,”_ Ardyn sighed and yanked Noctis’ head back up again. Blood was running from Noctis’ nose, _“I apologize… I really don’t want to ruin that pretty face. You have some very attractive features… must have gotten them from your mother. It sure is a shame that she died.”_

Noctis didn’t say anything but he tried to pull his head out of Ardyn’s grip, but to no avail. Ardyn was clearly stronger, and Noctis was restrained.

_“I had planned on being nice, but since your son is incapable of telling you what he was supposed to do, I guess I’ll just have to demonstrate what will be done to him, and worse, while he’s under my care…”_

Ardyn let go of Noctis’ head and circled around him, ending up standing behind him. For a while he simply smirked as he placed a hand on Noctis’ back, but then he grabbed him by his shirt and more or less threw his upper body onto the table. Noctis tried to struggle by kicking, but Ardyn simply wouldn’t have it.

_“Do I have to break your damned legs? Because I **will** do that, broken bones do mend, after all. But it would be quite foolish of you to get yourself more broken than necessary… you have already lost a finger,”_ Ardyn muttered and looked to the side, holding out a hand.

Someone off-screen handed him what looked like rope. Ardyn knelt down and tied Noctis’ legs to the table legs, ensuring that he couldn’t kick. And his hands were already tied behind his back, leaving him defenseless.

Gladio didn’t like where things were going. He didn’t like it at all.

_“Now…”_ Ardyn looked into the camera and smirked again, _“Regis Lucis Caelum… you better watch closely, and remember that this is nothing compared to what we can do to your son. Every day, at any time. There are a lot of people here who’d love the chance…”_

Ardyn brought out a knife from his pocket and put it against Noctis’ throat.

_“Sweetie, if you make one bad move…”_

That made Noctis still from his attempted struggle. Not much later Ardyn removed the knife and instead grabbed Noctis’ by his waist and looked into the camera, a smug smile on his face.

_“He really is pretty… I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for simply ravaging him.”_

And with that Ardyn hooked his thumbs underneath the waistband of Noctis’ pants and swiftly pulled them down along with his underwear. For a brief moment Noctis stared into the camera, his eyes wide. Then it was as if he realized that his own father would watch it, and he turned his face away in shame, his body shaking so much that even they could pick up on it through the movie.

_“If you are that tense you are just going to make it worse for yourself,_ ” Ardyn commented as he started undoing his belt,  _"Just a word of warning."_

Gladio wanted to turn away, but he couldn’t. He felt sick, and the feeling just got worse as he watched Ardyn’s pants fall to the floor, and how he put his hands on Noctis’ sides. Not many seconds later Noctis’ entire body went stiff as a board briefly, then he started trying to move away, obviously in extreme discomfort as the man behind him was starting to penetrate him with force.

_“By the Six, are you really that stupid?”_ Ardyn huffed as he stilled and stared down at Noctis, _“Fine, then I guess it’s a punishment. You only have yourself to blame for this, Noctis. It could have been easy... if you just had **listened**."_

Noctis let out a scream as Ardyn thrust his hips forward in one swift movement. Ardyn hardly waited before he pulled out and repeated the motion, seemingly not caring about Noctis’ discomfort or giving him a chance to adjust. If anything, it seemed as if his grin just widened every time he heard Noctis scream or whimper. Sometimes Noctis tried to hold back, but he couldn’t help letting out sounds of pain now and then.

For a while Gladio just had to look away. He looked around at the others briefly. He noted that Regis’ fingers were digging into the armrest of his chair, and it would surely leave marks. Gladio couldn’t blame him. None of them wanted to watch, but no one made a move to turn it off.

And Gladio knew why. Gods, he knew that they all had to watch that awful video, take in what happened to Noctis. Turning it off now would just be them sparing themselves from feeling worse, and then they also wouldn’t know what more there was on the video. They couldn’t afford missing out on possibly vital information.

So the four of them kept watching as Ardyn raped Noctis. They had to watch as Ardyn  _hurt_ him and even laughed at Noctis' pain. Gladio wasn’t sure how long it was, but after a while it was as if Noctis gave up struggling, his body seemed to go limp and he just occasionally twitched and made vague movements of trying to get away. But he appeared to know that there was no point to fight.

_“This… is what’s going to keep happening to your son,”_ Ardyn spoke up for the first time in several minutes and looked into the camera as he grabbed Noctis’ hair and pulled his head up, directing his head towards the camera. There were tears running down his face, but he refused to look into the lens. As Ardyn once more slammed back into him, he didn’t make a sound, but the expression on his face told Gladio just enough. 

_“After this… I might let some of my men have a go, too. At him and his bodyguard. It’s quite impressive how caring your son is. You’d think he’d throw them to the wolves, but actually… he’s been very insistent on us not hurting his beloved Ignis…”_  Ardyn trailed off and yanked harshly at Noctis’ hair again, making him grit his teeth in pain, _“It’s truly heartwarming. And Ignis has tried to protect your son as well as he can… rest assured that you at least chose good men to look after him.”_

Gladio wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel relief or be even more upset. On one hand he knew that Ignis was alive, on the other hand both of them were in that place together, having to suffer at the hands of Ardyn Izunia. At least they were both living, and that was good news. He had to at least force himself to think of that, keep a bit of hope alive.

Suddenly Ardyn’s movements started getting slightly erratic, and he let go of Noctis head to instead grab him by his hips as he slammed into him a couple of more times, hard. Then he came with a groan, lazily thrusting in and out of Noctis as he emptied himself within him.

He took a bit of a breather before he pulled out and pulled his own pants on again. He walked up to the side of the table and looked at Noctis, laughing as he looked at his face. But this time he didn’t bother forcing Noctis to look into the camera. Instead he walked up to it, getting a close up on himself.

_“He’s even prettier when he cries… I think I want to see more of that face,”_ Ardyn grinned, _“So, Regis… Now you know that we do have your son, and what he’s going to go through here. You don’t want this for him, do you? I have a proposition for you.”_

_“Shut up,”_ Noctis voice sounded rough from the background, _“D-don’t listen to that piece of shit, Dad, don’t-,”_

_“Oh by the Six…”_ Ardyn rolled his eyes and looked to the side, making a vague hand movement. Soon enough someone headed up to the table behind Ardyn and put a new piece of tape over his mouth to silence him.

_“Anyway… where were we? Ah, yes, a proposition. If you want your son to live, then you will exchange places with him. You have a week to make up your mind, Regis, and don’t worry… I will get in touch with you about the details soon,”_ Ardyn paused and smirked, staring into the camera with an amused look on his face, _“Now **someone** has to teach your son some manners, but I’ll save that for off-camera. Ta ta.”_

And with that the screen went black. Leaving them in a tense silence.

Gladio’s nails were digging into his hands, it was all he could do to _not_ physically damage something. All the anger that had built up over the past days was nothing compared to how he felt now. Anger mixed with a desperate urge to _kill_ Ardyn Izunia. He wanted to rip him into tiny pieces.

“I’ll do it,” Regis said, sounding oddly blank as he stared ahead at the screen even if it wasn’t displaying anything any longer, “I’ll go through with the exchange.”

“What?” Clarus asked, his eyes wide, “Regis, you… you can’t be serious, you -,”

“It’s my _son_ , Clarus,” Regis snapped, and slammed his hands into the desk, “It’s my son and he’s in there paying for… for something _I_ have done. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same for your children! I should be the one in there, not Noctis. The things… Gods… the way Izunia...”

Regis shook his head and buried his face in his hands, taking deep breaths to try and collect himself.

Gladio grimaced as his gaze briefly met Clarus’, he looked pained. Terribly so. And Gladio understood. Clarus had always been loyal to Regis, but it was more than that. He knew that they had a bond and a very close friendship. There was no one Regis trusted more than Clarus, and vice versa.

After a while Cor cleared his throat and spoke up.

“With all due respect… but we know that Izunia is enjoying himself,” Cor was frowning, “We all want Noctis out of there, and Ignis, too… but asking for you might not change anything. If he has both you and Noctis then that would be the end to the Caelum line, and perhaps that’s just what he wants.”

“But we don’t _know_ that, we -,”

“If you go there and we turn out to be right, what then?” Cor asked and leaned down to get to the same eye-level as Regis, “Then he’ll kill you both. Since _you_ seem to be his main target it’d be foolish of you to accept this proposition without thinking it over carefully. If you are here, he still has a _need_ for Noctis to get to you. He gave you a week, so I ask for you to give us that time to try and get Noctis back without having to send you in there as well.”

Regis looked as if he was about to protest, but after silently staring at Cor for a while he sighed in frustration and shrugged.

“Three days.”

“Four days,” Cor countered, “Give us four days.”

“ _Fine_ ,” Regis snapped, “96 hours from now on. Not a single minute more.”

“We still don’t know how this damned thing even will work out,” Gladio pointed out, “Izunia said _he_ would get in touch with us.”

“Still, he gave Regis a week to make up his mind,” Clarus muttered.

“Titus, you’re awfully silent,” Regis pointed out after a while, looking at the man who was standing slightly to the side, his arms crossed over his chest, “What do you think?”

“I think that Noctis and Ignis are not going to have a good time in there this upcoming week,” Drautos said honestly and shrugged, “Izunia obviously enjoys hurting Noctis.”

“Do you think he would honor the promise of letting Noctis go if I exchange places with him?”

“So far we’ve not seen or heard him lie.”

“Just… stop this, alright?” Clarus snapped, “I _know_ you just want Noctis out of there but right now the way you’ll keep him alive is by staying _here_.”

“Dad’s right,” Gladio agreed urgently, “You being here might be the only thing keeping Noctis and Ignis alive.”

It had to be frustrating. Gladio knew that if it had been him who had been asked to switch places, he would have done so in an instant. At least he would have wished to do that, but it was of course risky. If Ardyn got to Regis as he wanted, then he could possibly just kill all of them. The fact that they had been given a week was generous. But that also meant more time that Ardyn could torment Noctis and Ignis.

“Get to work then,” Regis said tiredly, “No more than four days, and I expect reports on _anything_ that could be significant to finding Noctis, no matter how small the matter might seem.”

“Yes, sir,” Gladio nodded, “Don’t worry. We… we’ll find their location. And then we’ll free them… if it so is the last damned thing I do. I won’t fail you. I won’t fail _them_.”

“Thank you, Gladiolus,” Regis murmured and then turned towards Cor and Clarus, “Do you think it’s possible to find their location?”

“The city is big…” Cor straightened up and crossed his arms, “But it’s possible. I’ll make sure to check more cameras. It gets trickier since we do not know what roads or directions they went, but we know approximately when it happened thanks to Argentum. I’ll get on it right away.”

“I’ll send out more of my men,” Drautos murmured and started heading for the door, “I’ll contact you if I get any information of use… sir.”

“Good, dismissed,” Regis said quietly, “All of you are. I want to be alone.”

Clarus’ eyes widened as he looked at Regis, “But -,”

“No,” Regis said firmly, “I want no one here right now. I am sorry, my friend, but I just need some time.”

Gladio could see that Clarus more than disliked the order, but it would have been disrespectful to object further so he took a deep breath and nodded. He knew the manor was safe, but he had spent the past 30 years protecting Regis. The thought of leaving Regis probably felt foreign to him.

“Security will still be positioned around the house as normal… just not here.”

“That is fine,” Regis murmured, “Take your son and go, Clarus.”

“I will do,” Clarus quietly said and looked over at Gladio who sighed and shrugged. After a while Clarus put a hand against Gladio’s back, “Come on, son. You heard him.”

“Yeah…” Gladio murmured, his gaze lingered on Regis but there was nothing left to say.

They were running out of time anyway. He had to start looking for information again, maybe even get violent. Someone had to have seen _something_ that night they were taken.

Drautos was the first to leave, the others lingered until Regis sighed and waved his hand dismissingly. Then they all headed out and went their separate ways. Gladio and Clarus went out to the cars in silence, and Clarus got into the passenger seat as Gladio sat down in the driver’s seat.

Gladio still wanted nothing more than to punch something really hard. Preferably Ardyn’s face, but that wasn’t possible. Instead he grabbed the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles whitened.

His breathing was slightly shaky, and he had to concentrate hard on not letting the rage take over.

“Gladiolus,” Clarus’ voice was oddly soft as he spoke, “It isn’t your fault.”

It felt like a repeat of the conversation they had had only a couple of days ago. When he accidentally had told Clarus that he loved Ignis, and that he felt guilty.

Of course he still felt guilty, and Clarus had to know that. He knew what a heavy burden it was to carry, especially when you were specifically assigned to _protect_ someone.

“I’m going to fucking kill Izunia,” Gladio turned his face to Clarus, “I’m going to find them, and then I’m going to tear him apart. I want him to _suffer_ , Dad.”

“He _will_ suffer.”

“He’s… he’s using Noct as if he’s _trash_ ,” Gladio felt sick once he thought of the video again. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to forget the sound of Noctis’ pained screams, or the look on his face, “I just… I know it isn’t my fault, but it’s really fucking painful to know what’s happening to them without being able to do something about it.”

“It is.”

Gladio sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. There wasn’t much to be said at the moment. He knew that Clarus understood. That on its own was somewhat comforting.

“We need to find them, Dad.”

“Yes,” Clarus murmured, “We do. And we better get started soon… but could you drive me home first? I know we’re working on a time limit, but I need to see Iris. You should come say hello, too. She’s worried about you.”

Gladio wanted to protest, wanted to insist on getting to work right away. But he was too angry and upset to think straight. He hardly knew where to go. Perhaps seeing Iris was what he needed. She had always had a way to make him relax a bit. And he hadn’t seen her for weeks.

“Yeah… yeah I’ll do that.”

* * *

 

“I just received some lovely news! Apparently one of your father’s men found the present I left them!” Ardyn exclaimed the moment he suddenly appeared in the doorway. He quickly approached Noctis, “Aren’t you excited? They might be watching the video as we speak. Soon we’ll know just how much your father loves you.”

Noctis just glared up at Ardyn despite feeling like getting as far away from him as possible. But the past days had taught him that it was foolish to even try,

“Fuck you. He… he won’t give in. Not like that.”

“Oh I think he will,” Ardyn smirked, “And when he does, I’ll kill you both. But not before making him watch as I kill you. You see… no matter if your father comes here or not, you are not leaving alive.”

“What are you talking about?” Ignis frowned, “How are you supposed to get what you want if there’s nothing to bargain with?”

“And here I was convinced that the two of you were smarter,” Ardyn rolled his eyes, “I already am getting what I want. I want nothing more than to see the Caelums perish. The entire syndicate could go, for all that I care, but instead I’ll leave that in the hands of someone else. Did you know that your father has a traitor next to him? That’s how I got to you. We’ve been following you closely the past months, I just never got a great opportunity to take you until last week.”

Noctis’ eyes widened as he stared at Ardyn. He had been terrified for himself and for Ignis ever since ending up there, even more so after the things Ardyn had done to them. But now he also feared for his father’s life. His one comfort had been that the others he cared about were safe, but he couldn’t even have that comfort now.

He wanted to cry. Scream. Punch something, or _someone_. He wasn’t sure how many days he had been there, but he thought it was about a handful. It felt like a long time. Both Noctis and Ignis had been forced to endure mental, physical and sexual abuse several times. After Ardyn had turned off the camera he had been in for even more hell, hardly giving him time to collect himself.

And since then Ignis had also been dragged away. Even if he refused to talk about it, Noctis _knew_ what had happened.

Now he was realizing that this was going to be their lives. There was nothing good waiting for them, because Ardyn had no intention of letting them go. Not even if Regis agreed to the proposition.

_Who’s the traitor? It can’t be Clarus. Cor wouldn’t… and Drautos? No… Dad trusts him. He trusts all of them._

“Are you trying to figure out who the traitor is?” Ardyn mockingly asked and let go of Noctis’ chin, “Since you won’t leave this place alive… I’ll let you in on the secret. Titus Drautos.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Noctis protested, “He wouldn’t. Right, Specs?”

He turned to Ignis, but Ignis looked grim.

“He… has been acting slightly odd lately,” Ignis murmured, “If there’s anyone close to your father that _would_ turn against him, I’d say it would be Drautos.”

“See? Even Ignis agrees,” Ardyn laughed as he started pacing back and forth in front of Noctis, “The deal was for me to get rid of you right away… but I didn’t think that seemed fun. I am thinking that he’s hoping to take over the family, but I never asked for details. If Regis loses his heir, would he be able to go on?”

“Drautos wants to take over the syndicate? If that’s the case, then the method is absolutely idiotic,” Ignis snapped, “There’s no telling who’d become the new oyabun, Regis hasn’t named anyone to take over yet. And Cor would be far more capable than Drautos. It’s a gamble, too risky.”

“Honestly, I agree,” Ardyn chuckled, “But with a couple of well-chosen words it’s surprisingly easy to convince a person to turn their back on someone they once were loyal to. After all… it’s been the men directly under him that has died on duty lately. I admit that I could have prevented those deaths, but they were in _my_ territory. It was surprisingly easy to shift the blame onto your father. Titus Drautos holds a lot of rage within him, something we do have in common… I am in considerably more control of my anger though, I know _exactly_ where to direct it.”

Ardyn smirked and crouched in front of Noctis, grabbing a hold of his chin.

“Want to come with me for a while, Noctis? We had such a lovely time in private yesterday. I’d love to get to know you even better.”

Noctis shuddered and looked towards Ignis. None of them attempted to move. Ignis had tried before, and that had only ended up with Ignis getting beaten to the ground. He had a couple of possibly cracked ribs thanks to that, making it slightly hard for him to move around without wincing in pain.

“Please,” Ignis sounded strained, “Don’t. Just… leave him alone. _Please_.”

Ardyn snorted, “You’d be willing to die for him, wouldn’t you?” he asked with a laugh, “It’s brave… and foolish. If it is any consolation, since Noctis is going to have to die at some point… so will you. I have not decided on who goes first. I have time for that. But… actually, Ignis, you should come with us.”

Noctis’ eyes widened, “What?”

“He does worry about your health,” Ardyn said as he pulled Noctis up from the floor. Noctis hardly had time to register what was going on when he felt cold metal press against his head, “Now, Ignis… kindly follow, and don’t try anything unless you don’t want to see Noctis’ brain scattered on the ground.”

Noctis gritted his teeth as he let Ardyn drag him away, hating how he heard Ignis follow close behind. As if it wasn’t enough getting violated when it was just the two of them.

As if it wasn’t enough that Ardyn had send that video to his father. Now he’d make Ignis watch, too.

Noctis thought he had known hate and fear before being kidnapped, but Ardyn was proving him wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all sorry for taking so long again! It's been finished for a while, but took some time to have it beta-read and edited! (and university is still haunting me).  
> Also I had a bit of a debate with myself about how to go about this chapter, but the warnings have been there from the start so I just went with actually depicting what happened. As stated before the chapter; it's possible to get in touch with me on my tumblr, cidhighwind, if you want an alternative version of this that is less explicit.  
> (Of course you're also free to drop in to message me for anything else there! Also, I post updated about the fic under the tag "RITF fic".)
> 
> Huge shout-out to my girlfriend for beta-reading and coming with suggestions on things to change and improve! And also to all of you who still are reading this even if I've been lousy at updating lately. I graduate in less than a month, and then I'll be free for three months so updating will probably get back to normal at that point!


	14. The hard truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter warning:**  
>  \- (non-explicit) mention of rape/non-con

_The best thing you can do to help is to keep going on with your life._

Gladio’s words were echoing in Prompto’s head, going as far as keeping him up at night. Not that he had been able to sleep much since finding out that Noctis had been kidnapped, but still.

Every time Prompto closed his eyes he kept imagining terrible scenarios, and he’d even woken up screaming after dreaming that Noctis’  _head_  had been delivered to his doorstep. After that the thought of sleeping wasn’t all that appealing. The images from the dreams were already burned into his mind, and he didn’t want more of them.

How was he supposed to go on with his life as if nothing was wrong when  _everything_  was wrong? How had Gladio been able to even suggest something like that?

Noctis was part of Prompto’s daily life. They had routines. Routines that involved Prompto texting Noctis to say ‘Good morning! <3’ every day. Usually Noctis’ reply would come a couple of hours later, when it wasn’t even morning any longer. But Prompto had learned to accept it since Noctis wasn’t very talkative first thing in the morning anyway. At night they’d sometimes play King’s Knight together, or talk on the phone.

But more often than not, they had been staying over at each other’s place a lot more often. At least Prompto had gotten quite used to Noctis’ apartment. He’d even brought a toothbrush and some extra sets of clothing so he always was prepared for impromptu sleepovers. It was good for them, and especially for Noctis. It felt good to be with him, to see him smile and laugh and not stay locked into his room even if he still had those days occasionally.

No matter what, they always had each other  _somehow_ and there never passed a day in which they didn't at least communicate through text.

Now all those daily routines with Noctis were gone, and Prompto found himself restless and unfocused. He hadn’t gone to school, he hadn’t worked on his photography assignments because it hurt too much when the subject of several photos was Noctis.

He had actually tried, for a moment to listen to Gladio’s advice. Until he had realized that Gladio’s advice was nothing more than bullshit.

Yes, Prompto was a civilian, but that didn’t mean that he was useless. At least that’s what he wanted to believe. He wanted to at least do  _something_  that didn’t involve sitting around on his ass just hoping that the Caelum syndicate would be able to find and rescue Noctis. Considering how stressed everyone seemed to be, it didn’t appear to be going well.

That was how he found himself at his not very reliable (but still somehow functioning) laptop.

He couldn’t really fight, he didn’t have contacts or ways to make people talk… but he could at least attempt to see if anyone knew something about Noctis. Any clue would be appreciated.

With a sigh he leaned back and stared at the screen after a while, nodding to himself before clicking print and praying that his printer hadn’t run out of ink.

Thankfully it hadn’t, and soon papers started coming out. Lots of them.

Before the printer even had stopped printing, Prompto picked up one of the papers. It was still warm to the touch as he ran his fingers over the paper.

It was a poster. Large text on the top of the paper read “MISSING PERSON” and underneath was a picture of Noctis. He didn’t mention Noctis’ name on the poster since he knew that Noctis didn’t want to be associated with the yakuza, so instead he had written information of when he last had been seen and in what area of town, how he had been dressed, and lastly he put down his own phone number and email so people could contact him if they had seen Noctis.

Now he only had to get out without being seen by the yakuza men he knew were stationed at the front of his apartment building, because he really doubted they’d let him go out and put up those posters. It didn’t really seem like the kind of thing the yakuza would do. At least not in Prompto’s mind.

“Adventure it is,” Prompto groaned as he looked out one of his windows.

There was a downspout right next to his window, and he could probably use it to climb down. But he had no idea how durable it was. After all the apartment building was  _old_  and the downspout looked as if it had seen better days considering how rusty it was.

He put on an oversized hoodie, hood covering his face, before putting the posters in a bag and opening his window, taking a deep breath as he tried to mentally prepare.

It was risky and stupid, he knew that. He also knew that if Gladio ever found out he’d get scolded to hell and back. But he had to prove himself useful. He wasn’t  _useless_. He could do something.

“The things I do for love,” Prompto said with a shaky voice as he reached out for the downspout and grabbed a hold onto it.

At first he tugged on it a couple of times, testing how durable it seemed. At least it stayed attached to the wall, so he decided to just put his trust in it.

“Please don’t break,” he whispered as he slowly descended, “ _Please_  don’t break…”

He got down to the fourth floor pretty easily. The third was when the downspout made a concerning creaking noise.

Prompto kept climbing downwards. He didn’t have time to stop and think about the sound. Instead he kept internally begging it not to break.

Everything was just fine until the second floor when the downspout suddenly couldn’t take the extra weight any longer and it  _snapped_  and Prompto found himself falling backwards. If it hadn’t been for the bush he landed in, it could probably have ended up pretty bad. Instead he found himself flailing in the bush, trying to get out.

“Ow ow ow!” Prompto gritted his teeth as he shoved the downspout to the side, “ _Fuck_!”

Thorns. Of course there had to be  _thorns_  on the damned bushes.

Covered in leaves, thorns and scratches, Prompto managed to stumble out of the bushes and quickly looked around. He could hear voices nearby. Perhaps the people who watched him had heard the sound of the downspout hitting the ground. Or it could just have been some of his neighbors, but he couldn’t afford taking any chances as he heard the voices get closer.

At that moment Prompto chose to just sprint away, thankful for his daily runs, and the adrenalin rush made him forget about the pain from falling. He was running from the  _yakuza_ , and even if they were on his side, his heart was beating fast and hard in his chest. If they caught him he’d no doubt get even more people watching him. He had to get this done  _now_.

Prompto didn’t slow down until he was a couple of blocks away and until he was sure that no one was following him. He must have looked suspicious to others outside. A young man in his hoodie constantly looking over his shoulder.

“Okay,” he murmured to himself as he stopped by a notice board, taking out one of the posters and putting it up there, “One down.”

Many more to go.

* * *

 

_“Thought you might want to know that Argentum managed to get out of his apartment unnoticed, and that we do not know where he is at this point.”_

Gladio closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was something he had feared, but he had a hard time believing Prompto could have gotten out unnoticed. There were several people watching him.

“How the hell did he manage that?”

_“There was a downspout next to his window. It seems to have broken on his climb down, and he must have fallen but since he is gone… it can’t have been too bad.”_

“Fucking brat… what the hell do you want me to do about that?!”

 _“I’m just relaying it to you,”_  Cor said,  _“No need to get angry with me, Gladiolus. You two are friends, aren’t you?”_

“I guess,” Gladio grunted. They did normally get along, and he cared about Prompto even if they weren’t that close but he was a good kid, “Shit… I’ll try to call him. Any new footage of interest?”

_“Not really. Considering we don’t know what road they took and we don’t know the exact time it happened… there’s a lot of footage to go through. We’ve seen a couple of vehicles that seemed suspicious, but all those have so far turned out to be nothing worth of concern.”_

“Is there  _anything_  that can help us at this point?” Gladio asked in frustration, “It’s just a couple of days left until Regis goes through with Izunia’s deal. There must be  _something_.”

_“Izunia has been extremely careful in disposing of anything that could help us find them.”_

“The people living in the area,” Gladio frowned, “They’ve been questioned, right?”

_“Of course, and no one has seen or heard anything.”_

Gladio let out a humorless laugh and shook his head, “I bet that’s bullshit. Izunia must have bought their silence, or scared them. Send me the addresses and I’ll go there and check again.”

_“Gladiolus…”_

“I’m not going to kill anyone, just possibly rough someone up a bit,” Gladio murmured as he headed out of his apartment, “There’s too little time to play nice, and Izunia is just thinking of it as a goddamned game.”

 _“Fine,”_  a sigh,  _“Just be careful. And if you find Argentum -,”_

“I’ll kick his ass,” Gladio snapped, “And send him back to the estate. I know we said he’d be free but if he’s gonna pull shit like this then he’ll just cause problems for us.”

_“Fine. Let me know if and when you send him back. I’ll have him set up in a room where he can -,”_

“Let him have Noct’s room in case I find him,” Gladio murmured, “Gotta go now. People to question, brats to find.”

_“Good luck.”_

With that he hung up and took a deep breath. All he wanted was for  _something_  to work out in their favor.

He had about three days left to try and find Noctis and Ignis before Regis would surrender to Ardyn’s terms and exchange places with Noctis, if that even was true. It seemed shady. Worst case scenario, they’d both be killed. And Ignis. But Gladio suspected that Regis would prefer going down with his son.

So considering the short amount of time they had to prevent that, Gladio did  _not_  have time or patience for Prompto being a damned rebel. They should have stationed someone  _inside_ his apartment even if the kid didn’t want to. Because now Prompto had gone rogue and Gladio had no idea where he was.

While cursing under his breath Gladio got into his car. He'd make sure to drop by Prompto's apartment a bit later, but first of all he had some questioning to do.

 

* * *

 

Ignis bolted up straight, a hand held loosely over his throat as he desperately gasped for air. It had felt as if someone was trying to strangle him.

As he managed to get air into his lungs he looked around with wide eyes, feeling disoriented and confused upon not seeing anyone or anything around to cause such a feeling.

He was still in the cell, and Noctis was next to him, shifting slightly and groaning. He was probably waking up because of Ignis sudden movements.

Ignis felt relief for a moment.

No one was choking him.

No one was about to press his head down under water.

No one was gripping at his hips.

No one was touching him.

He was  _fine_ , he was in the cell with Noctis.

He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

“Specs…?” Noctis murmured tiredly as he sluggishly forced himself to sit up, “Something happening?”

“Go back to sleep,” Ignis whispered and reached out a hand to touch Noctis. The moment his hand landed on Noctis’ shoulder he jerked back a bit, eyes widening.

So much for going back to sleep for any of them. They were obviously traumatized.

“Sorry, I… I shouldn’t have, not without permission.”

“No it’s… it’s fine,” Noctis said quietly and sighed as he shuffled a bit closer to Ignis again, “I just wasn’t prepared. It’s okay. Are you… okay?”

Ignis smiled and nodded, “Fine.”

“Liar,” Noctis said but it held no bite to it, “You’re such a hypocrite, you tell me to not lie to you... yet you lie to me.”

Ignis knew that he was being a huge hypocrite, but despite their situation he was still Noctis’ bodyguard, and he wanted to remain somewhat professional. And Noctis needed him to be strong. He couldn’t afford breaking down, because right now all they had was each other.

To be fair he was surprised at how well Noctis was holding up after everything Ardyn had done to him. Every time Ignis seemed to think that things couldn’t get worse, Ardyn seemed to prove them wrong. Like how he had dragged Ignis along simply to  _watch_  as he did as he wished to Noctis.

Ignis had tried to tell Noctis that there was nothing to be ashamed of, that he had had no choice in the matter. But as he later had been exposed to the same treatment he had realized that it was much easier said than done to not feel ashamed and embarrassed. They were both in a terrible situation, and it was somehow easier to pretend that everything was alright if no one else saw what happened.

They were both painfully aware of the things the other had gone through.

“Why do you inquire about my wellbeing if you were already aware of the answer, then?”

Noctis opened his mouth but didn’t say anything, instead he shrugged and pulled a hand through his hair. It was looking dirty and slightly greasy. Ignis wasn’t looking much better, his hair was usually styled into a pompadour but lack of hair product and proper care had left it hanging, sometimes getting into his eyes.

The things he would do for an actual shower. Sure they had the bathroom, and they did their best to use the sink to keep clean, but it wasn’t nearly enough to  _feel_  clean.

Ignis was dragged out of his thoughts as Noctis spoke up again.

“Ignis… do you think we’ll get out of here?”

“I don’t know,” Ignis said honestly, there was no point lying about it. Saying yes was just a foolish assumption, “I really don’t know, Noct.”

Noctis didn’t say anything but he nodded in what Ignis guessed was agreement.

“I don’t want my last memories to be of this place,” Noctis continued, his voice not much louder than a whisper, “I don’t… I don’t want it to be of  _him_  touching me. Or his voice whispering in my ear. It… doesn’t it make you feel  _dirty_?”

Ignis took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could almost still feel hands on his body, hands that weren’t supposed to be there.

“It does. But it isn’t true.”

“I know that, it’s just… Gods,” Noctis shook his head and rubbed his eyes, “The way he  _talks_ … it’s just… I feel sick just hearing his voice.”

Ignis sighed softly and nodded. Ardyn’s actions were terrible on their own, but he could make everything feel so much worse by simply opening his mouth. He was playing mind games with them, and even if it was best to just try and ignore it, it wasn’t easy to not let it get to them. Noctis especially seemed to be struggling with the aftermath, seemingly  _believing_  the things Ardyn told him.

“Keep in mind that he is playing mind games,” he reminded Noctis, “Allowing it to affect you this way… it is precisely what he desires, Noct. We can’t let him get that.”

“I  _know_ ,” Noctis murmured and then swallowed, “There’s… there’s something he said earlier though. When you weren’t there.”

Ignis frowned and glanced over at Noctis, “What?”

“I… uhm, you… you did a background check on Prompto, right?”

“Yes…” Ignis said slowly, not sure where things were going, “How come?”

“He talked about Prompto,” Noctis said quietly, “I… I thought it was simply to threaten me more… you know, threaten to take someone I love and all that shit? But then he said some things that… that can’t be true, b-but… what do you know about Prompto’s background?”

“He was adopted by the Argentums when he was about 2,” Ignis thoughtfully said, “Since then it’s just… he’s lived with the Argentums. Both of them seem to live fairly normal lives. They work and travel a lot, so I take it Prompto spent a lot of time on his own. Couldn’t find anything prior to being adopted, but I did not think it strange considering he was so little then.”

“Ardyn says he was born in the Niflheim family.”

“Excuse me?”

Noctis was staring down at his hands, clenching them into fists.

“He said that… that one of the people close to him is Prompto’s biological father,” Noctis quietly said, “A-and you know… he didn’t say it outright but he asked me how much I trusted Prompto. A-and when I said I’d trust him with my life, he kept asking questions and it boils down to… I think Ardyn is trying to make me think that Prompto sold me out.”

“Ardyn already told us that  _Drautos_ is the traitor. Listen to me, Noctis, don’t allow him to… to do this to you.”

“But who says there only needs to be one traitor?” Noctis asked, “Drautos is around Dad a-and Prompto… Prompto is around  _me_. I let him into my life, I’ve opened up so many doors to him… what if Ardyn is telling the truth? What if Prompto just… what if he just was told to do this? Maybe the day he ran into me wasn’t a coincidence? Maybe it all was just a huge fucking lie that -,”

“Stop,” Ignis said and put a hand on Noctis’ shoulder, staring at him, “Just… please stop, Noct. There was nothing peculiar in my background check of him and… he doesn’t seem to live a double life. I’ve had people follow him before.”

Noctis’ eyes widened a bit, “You did what?”

“For your safety. Before the two of you were romantically involved,” Ignis admitted, and it wasn’t the first time he had done something like that for Noctis’ safety, “It wasn’t something neither of you had to be aware of. You have made it quite clear that you do not wish to know more than necessary of the family’s activities…”

Noctis opened his mouth but closed it quickly. He looked a bit upset, but he must also have realized that Ignis was right. Ignis tended to not tell Noctis more than he needed to know. But perhaps he should have told him more. About the Niflheim activity that had gone up the past couple of months. Just  _maybe_  they would have been able to avoid this situation, then.

“So… you’re saying that Prompto isn’t…”

“If he does work for Niflheim then he is unbelievably discrete,” Ignis said with a shrug, “There is nothing suspicious about him or his activities. I believe Ardyn is trying to get to you… and if he  _is_  right about Prompto’s heritage, that doesn’t have to mean anything since he was adopted at such a young age. Perhaps he is not even aware of it himself? Have you ever talked to him about it?”

“Not really…” Noctis shrugged and bit his lip, “He doesn’t even like talking about his adoptive parents since they’re pretty much not a part of his life.”

“Well then, I recommend that you let go of it and try to forget the things Izunia said,” Ignis said softly, “If Prompto truly worked for them, you would have been taken much sooner, Noct.”

“Sorry, I… I just…” Noctis shook his head and rubbed his eyes, “I’m letting him get to me. He just… he gets into my head even when I try to shut him out. I don’t know how but he got a way to…”

“I understand,” Ignis nodded, “He certainly has a way with words... “

Noctis nodded silently before getting up. Soon he was pacing in the room and kicked at the mattress lightly.

"I wish I knew what the time was," Noctis grimaced, "Even if it wouldn't change anything."

Ignis agreed. He too wished he knew what time it was, because it would give him  _something_  to go on. Just knowing how long they had been there would make him feel more in control.

"I wish so too," he commented as he watched Noctis pace.

Noctis had been doing quite a lot of pacing lately, clearly feeling too restless and anxious to sit or go back to bed. The first couple of days (at least Ignis suspected it had been days) he hadn't done much more than just sit on the floor or be next to Ignis.

Now it seemed as if his entire body was itching if he stayed still for longer than a couple of minutes. Instead Ignis was the one sitting down, having given up on the pacing.

"It's too bad that my watch broke in the car crash," Ignis murmured as he looked down at his wrist, adjusting the broken watch a bit, "I was quite fond of it."

"Get a new one when we get out?"

"I'm afraid it wouldn't be the same. It was a gift," Ignis said quietly, "Gladio gave it to me two years ago on my birthday. It was after I had complained about my previous one breaking..."

Ignis trailed off and chuckled.

"He used to think it was silly of me to wear a watch since I could simply check the time on my phone..." he sighed, "But it didn't stop him from buying me a new one."

Noctis' gaze softened a bit as he watched Ignis.

"I bet he'll get you a new one if you complain about this one being broken, too."

"Not so sure about that," Ignis crossed his arms, "We had a fight just hours before you and I were taken."

“You fought?” Noctis asked with wide eyes, it was the first time he was hearing about this fight, “About what?”

“It’s nothing, just -,”

“Me, then,” Noctis said and turned around.

Noctis wasn't wrong. After all most of their fights kept somehow coming back to Noctis no matter what. Ignis didn't really want to talk about it since he knew that Noctis would feel guilty about it.

"It's... it's not like that, Noct," Ignis sighed, "It's less about you and more about how I manage my life and time off."

"Which still comes back to me, right?" Noctis asked and dropped down in the chair a bit further away, "He thinks you're spending too much time around me, and he's right. I know it's your job to protect me and keep me safe but... you do more than your assigned hours, and way more than keep me safe from threats. I'm adult... so he has a valid point."

“Noct -,”

“You keep cooking for me. You do my grocery shopping a lot of the time. You  _clean_  my apartment and -,”

“Because I  _want_  to do it!” Ignis snapped, “Because I know you’ve been struggling a lot the last couple of years, I just… I figured it’d take a bit of a burden off of your shoulders. We’ve been through this before, haven’t we?”

It seemed as if Ignis was cursed with having this fight. If it wasn't with Gladio, then it was with Noctis. It was starting to get really frustrating to have others try and decide over his life and time.

“And you’ve really eased that burden… but I don’t want it to be at the cost of your own private life and free time. I’m… doing better. I mean, when I’m not being kidnapped and abused by sadistic creeps.”

Noctis chuckled, but Ignis didn’t laugh. He just stared back at him with a grim expression on his face.

“There is nothing comical about this situation, Noctis.”

“Trust me, I  _know_. It’s absolutely fucking terrible,” he laughed again and leaned against the wall, “And Ardyn hasn't been here for a while. But I bet he’s going to show up any time. Like a damned jack-in-the-box.”

The situation was just so terrible that he couldn’t do much more than laugh at it. Everything was just horrible. Both of them were suffering, and they had no idea what was going on outside their room, and obviously they couldn’t trust anything Ardyn told them.

Yet his words still had a way to get underneath Noctis’ skin even if Ignis tried to convince him not to listen.

After a while Noctis sighed and closed his eyes. If he just thought about something good then  _maybe_  he could forget the things Ardyn had said. He didn’t want his thoughts and feelings about Prompto to be spoiled by someone like Ardyn.

“Noctis…”

Ignis didn’t get to continue speaking because they both heard the sound of the door being unlocked, both turning to look.

“Speak of the devil,” Noctis grumbled, tensing up as he saw Ardyn step in with that predatory grin on his face. That was bad news, “What the hell do you want this time?”

“Is that really the right way to speak to me?” Ardyn asked and smirked as he approached Noctis, grabbing his arm roughly, “Here I’ve been nice and let the two of you be alone for almost an entire day. Do you need another lesson?”

“No,” Noctis begged and tried to pull out of the grip, “Please don’t.”

“Oh, you’re begging now?” Ardyn asked, an amused grin on his face, “To think you’d give in so easily. Well then, we’ll bring Ignis again, too. Do you perhaps want him to hold your hand?”

Noctis made a final attempt at pulling out of Ardyn’s grip but he didn’t even budge. His shoulders slumped down in defeat. Ignis clenched his fists as he got up from the floor. He knew all too well that there was no point in fighting it.

“I thought so,” Ardyn sounded too amused for Ignis’ liking, “Time for some more fun, for all of us.”

 

* * *

 

Prompto’s eyes widened as he stepped up towards his apartment. Just as he was about to get his keys up, Gladio stepped out of the front door, glaring at him.

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“You don’t own me,” Prompto snapped and clenched his fists at his sides, “You can’t decide over where I go or what I do, so get out of the way!”

Gladio gritted his teeth and grabbed Prompto by his hoodie, dragging him out towards the elevator.

“I don’t give a shit what you think,” he said and shoved Prompto into the elevator before pressing the button to take them to the bottom floor, “What the hell were you even doing?”

“None of your business.”

“Do you want to become a  _suspect_  on this? You want to stand accused of working for Niflheim?” Gladio hissed and stepped up towards him, “Because acting like this is making you look pretty damned suspicious.”

Prompto kept glaring at Gladio defiantly, but he had to admit that he was terrified. Perhaps not of Gladio, because even if Gladio could be terribly scary, he was still a good person. Prompto knew that. But the thought of being accused of helping the Niflheim syndicate kidnap Noctis? That was scary.

“I don’t work with them,” Prompto said, “I was out… doing what I could do.”

“And what is that? I thought I told you to let me handle this!”

“Look, it doesn’t matter, okay?!” Prompto exclaimed and let out a breath of relief when the elevator came to a stop and an old woman stepped in. He smiled nervously at her, glad to get a bit of a break from Gladio’s harsh words.

Gladio composed himself and didn’t speak, obviously not looking to involve civilians.

But once they were back in Gladio’s car he instantly turned to face Prompto again.

“Listen, I’m taking you back to the estate, and I don’t give a fuck about you not wanting that,” Gladio said, “I have about  _three_  days left to find Noctis and I could be spending this time looking for him instead of driving your stubborn ass around!”

Prompto felt his irritation leave in a moment, instantly being replaced by fear. Three days? They had a time limit now? That hadn’t been a thing last time he talked to Gladio.

“W-what do you mean three days?” he asked, “H-have you been delivered terms?”

Gladio cursed under his breath and turned his head forward as he started the car. He had obviously not meant to tell Prompto that tiny fact.

“I can’t talk about it with you. Just let me drive you back,” he grunted, “It’s for your own damned safety.”

Prompto was about to protest but instead he just went slack in the car seat, staring ahead.

The situation felt unreal. What had happened that had caused the sudden time limit? Wasn’t Noctis’ father willing to agree with terms provided?  _Why_  wouldn’t they, in that case? Wasn’t Noctis more important than money, a criminal network or such things?

It wasn’t fair.

“Noctis never wanted this life,” Prompto said quietly, “I… he might not have told me just how important his dad was, but… but when he told me his father was yakuza, it was obvious that he didn’t want to be involved. That he wanted to be  _normal_.”

Gladio nodded, a bitter look on his face.

“I know.”

“Please tell me what’s going on, Gladio.”

“I can’t. You just have to trust me.”

“You don’t understand, Gladio! I love Noct, he’s my  _boyfriend_  and he’s been kidnapped and you’ve spilled that there’s a time limit!” Prompto exclaimed, “You don’t understand how fucking frustrating and scary it is to be in the dark when I know he’s kidnapped and  _someone_  obviously is hurting him!”

Prompto yelped as Gladio suddenly slammed his foot down on the brake, causing Prompto to get flung forward, seatbelt yanking him back into place against the back seat.

Once he turned his face to look at Gladio he reeled back, almost pressing his back against the passenger door. He wasn’t sure if the rage or the desperation in Gladio’s eyes was the worst.

“I don’t understand, huh?” Gladio repeated, voice dripping with acid, “I’ve known Noct since he was born. I was six at the time and I got to hold him that very same day. I consider him a brother, I love that fucking brat and I’ve been looking after him most of my life! And then there’s Iggy.”

Gladio’s fingers were digging into the steering wheel and he turned his face away from Prompto.

“I love him,” Gladio admitted, sounding awfully pained as he spoke, “I’ve liked him for years, and last year I’ve just… been pining after him. The day they got nabbed? We fought. But I swore to myself that I’d tell him the next day. But I didn’t get a next day, did I?”

Prompto swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling terrible about assuming that Gladio didn’t understand.

Prompto himself had known Noctis for less than a year, yet he loved him very much. Gladio had known Noctis for most of his life. And it turned out he cared about Ignis more than Prompto had thought he did.

“I’m sorry…” Prompto said quietly, “I… I didn’t think. Of course you understand, of all people…”

“Yeah,” Gladio sounded exhausted and Prompto could see some of the tension leave Gladio’s shoulders as he started to drive again, “I’m in the dark too, you know. I don’t know much more than you do, and I just… I’m trying really hard to find them. I get it, you’re upset, but when you go out solo’ing like that? Makes it harder for me to do my damned job.”

“If you had told me then maybe I wouldn’t have,” Prompto murmured, “Not looking for a fight, just -,”

“I get it,” Gladio snapped, “Just… accept that I can’t tell you much right now, okay?”

“Fine,” Prompto said and sighed in defeat, “Whatever. Sorry for causing trouble.”

They didn’t speak much for the rest of the ride. Prompto was on edge, and Gladio even more so. Prompto didn’t regret what he had done, but he felt a bit guilty about adding onto Gladio’s problems.

So he let himself be driven back to the Caelum estate, and didn’t even complain as he was more or less shoved into Noctis’ old bedroom with yakuza men stationed outside the door.

With a sigh he headed over to Noctis’ bed and dropped down into the bed, staring at his phone.

Now he could only hope that someone who saw one of his posters also had seen Noctis

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry about how long this took!  
> First of all I had to finish my final university project, and after that I've been absolutely exhausted both mentally and physically, so I've not been doingtoo well. But now I'm back in action! Still tired, but I'm motivated to write and do things I like doing :)
> 
> Huge shoutout to my friend Dani for beta reading for me. I was considering uploading without it being beta'd but good thing that I didn't because there were several bad errors!  
> Also thanks to those of you who still come back to this story, even after all this time! I appreciate you guys a lot and I'm still blown away by how much people have been enjoying this fic, I hope you're still on for the rest of the ride. And to new readers, thanks a lot for taking your time to read my story! <3


	15. The blind spot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings:  
> \- Rape (not very explicit)  
> \- Torture
> 
> (The rape scene isn't nearly as explicit as in chapter 13 since that's not the "focus" of the scene/chapter, but it's there. Torture scene is a bit more explicit, I'd warn for exactly what kind of torture if it didn't give some things away. Send me a message if you want to know beforehand! Tumblr link is in my profile, I'll check asks once in a while.)

It was idiotic to fight, yet he couldn’t help it.

Noctis knew that fighting Ardyn was pointless. In fact, it only seemed to bring him joy and make him put even more effort into being terrible. And Ardyn really knew how to be the worst kinds of terrible. Noctis had gotten to experience that first hand several times during the days he had been in captivity.

He knew the easiest way to get through whatever Ardyn was putting him through was to simply endure and do whatever he said, even if it’d make Noctis feel like shit.

The abuse was nothing. Noctis could handle a couple of punches and kicks. Even the loss of his finger was quite manageable. It was just physical pain, he could deal with that because the bruises would heal, and while the finger wouldn’t regrow it would eventually heal and he’d hopefully not feel any pain.

He could even take the sexual assault. He could suck Ardyn’s cock and try to just get it done with. He could grit his teeth and hold it together as Ardyn fucked him.

But what he couldn’t take was the humiliation, like when he had added Ignis into the mix. Being in a room alone with Ardyn was a lot different from being in a room where Ignis was tied up in a chair in front of them.

Noctis wasn’t sure how many days had passed, but enough days to have had both him and Ignis experience that humiliation. Noctis had seen Ignis get violated, and vice versa. Now it was once more Noctis’ turn, and he hated every second. Hated how Ignis was forced to sit there and watch it happen.

Ardyn had to get off on it, knowing that he was messing with both of them. Noctis didn’t want anyone to see him this way, and Ignis was surely feeling helpless just watching. Especially since it was his job to protect Noctis from everything, but now he couldn’t.

Noctis could at least try to avoid Ignis’ gaze. Whereas he’d been able to do that before, this time he had been told to not look away from Ignis, making it impossible for him to try and imagine that Ignis wasn’t there.

He tried really hard to not look into Ignis’ eyes, instead trying to focus on something else. Like an eyebrow, his nose, or that tiny mole on his chin that Noctis hadn’t really paid much attention to before. But it wasn’t easy avoiding locking eyes now and then, and seeing the look in Ignis’ eyes just made Noctis want to close his own eyes.

But Ardyn had told him not to, which meant he would have to endure. He _should_ have endured, anyways.

It reached a point where Noctis couldn’t take it, and he decided to avert his eyes, just hoping Ardyn wouldn’t notice. And if Ardyn wanted to punish him, then so be it. Noctis could take it. What more could Ardyn even do to him at this point? After all, Ardyn had no intentions of letting them go. Noctis could at least make his last days alive as much on his own terms as it was possible.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

Noctis hissed as Ardyn grabbed him by his hair, yanking his head up.

“Didn’t I tell you to keep looking at Ignis, hm?”

“Go fuck yourself,” Noctis snapped and opened his eyes, trying to turn his head to look back at Ardyn, “Do your worst, I don’t care any longer.”

“Really?” Ardyn let out a laugh, “You don’t care if I hand out a punishment?”

“No,” Noctis gritted out, “I don’t care. Do I have to say it again?”

“Careful with that attitude,” Ardyn stilled, staring down at Noctis and surprisingly enough letting go of his hair, “I wonder if you really do mean that, Noctis. Only one way to find out though, isn’t it?”

Noctis gasped in surprise as Ardyn suddenly pulled out of him. He prepared for him to slam back into him, but it didn’t happen. Was he going to get someone else to do it for him? More people? Torture? It didn’t really matter. Noctis really had reached a point where he didn’t care what they did to his body. Pain was just pain, or at least, he tried to tell himself that.

Noctis tried to look behind himself, and he caught a glimpse of Ardyn pulling his pants back up and then grabbing his phone.

“Do you have the things I talked about earlier?”

Ardyn paced slowly, nodding and humming as Noctis carefully pushed himself up from the table he had been pressed down against.

“I’m afraid it has come to that… truly a shame, isn’t it?” he chuckled, clearly not thinking that there wasn’t any shame in whatever it was he had in mind.

Noctis frowned, he had no idea what the hell Ardyn was talking about. Was he going to get another finger cut off? Or perhaps an entire limb this time. Or would he simply finally be killed? Perhaps that would be for the best, then it’d all finally be over.

Ardyn snorted and walked around the table, standing between Ignis and Noctis where both of them could see him properly.

“Thank you, the sooner the better,” with that Ardyn put his phone back in his pocket and grinned, “This is going to be interesting. It’s something I’ve not tried before. You’re my honored test subjects, aren’t you lucky?”

Noctis grimaced and wrapped his arms around himself, not daring to move much, something Ardyn seemed to notice.

“Get dressed and sit down,” he said, “And don’t for a moment think you can get the upper hand.”

Noctis didn’t reply but he did stumble over to where his clothes were laying on the floor, getting dressed with shaky hands. So much for telling himself that he didn’t care. Not knowing what was going made him feel a lot more nervous than he liked to admit.

Once he was fully dressed and sitting on the chair, Ardyn picked up some ropes, tying him to the chair. That was definitely not a good sign. Lately Ardyn hadn’t bothered a lot with the ropes, overlooking tying down Ignis. Perhaps it was because Ignis was trained to kill, while Noctis didn’t have the same kind of skills even if he wasn’t defenseless.

“Are you nervous?” Ardyn asked, looking between Noctis and Ignis, “You shouldn’t be. Since when has little old me done anything to hurt you?”

Neither of them spoke. Ignis was staring ahead at nothing in particular, but Noctis could tell that he was tense and stiff as a board. Noctis looked from Ignis up at Ardyn, attempting to burn a hole through his skull with a simple glare.

“If looks could kill,” Ardyn smirked, “It’s impressive, I thought I would have broken you by now. Or perhaps you’re only showing a tough exterior since your friend is here?”

Noctis didn’t answer. There wasn’t any point. And he wasn’t even sure if Ardyn had broken him or not.

When Noctis thought of being broken he thought of how he had acted the first day or two, how he had been a mess. But now he had stopped caring. Perhaps that was another kind of broken, now that he thought about it. He had just moved past crying over the situation because no amount of tears could change anything.

“You two are making this conversation very one-sided,” Ardyn said thoughtfully, “You’re sending me quite mixed signals. Sometimes both of you are so very vocal, but now?”

Noctis didn’t avert his gaze.

“Maybe I will get rid of you sooner than later, we’ll see…” Ardyn mused, “I have a couple of aces up my sleeve, though, can’t let you off the hook _that_ easily.”

Ignis scoffed, “Letting us off the hook is death, is it not?”

“Indeed,” Ardyn nodded, “I won’t keep you around forever, but it would be far too kind to just off you here and now. Especially dear Noctis. The things your family has done…”

“I didn’t ask to be born into this life,” Noctis finally spoke up, “I’ve been staying out of yakuza business. What the hell have I done to you?”

“Nothing at all, of course.”

“Guilty by association,” Ignis said in distaste, “Noctis’ father. But why?”

“My family had a place in the Caelum syndicate, they were trusted and valued,” Ardyn mused, “And then they were disposed of as if they were nothing more than mere trash.”

Ardyn chuckled as he walked across the room.

“He should have had me killed, too. Just like he had my family killed.”

“What…?” Noctis frowned, “Who?”

“Your grandfather was a really terrible man, Noctis. Back then people respected the Caelum family out of fear and nothing else.”

“I know,” Noctis snapped, “I know he was terrible, but -,”

“You see… my family was good,” Ardyn pointed out, “Father was in the yakuza, but he wanted to do good. Your grandfather did many bad things, and when he found out that my father was planning on abandoning the family? Well… he got rid of them. Even my mother, who wasn’t part of it. But I guess the old man didn’t have it in him to kill children, since he let me live.”

“You’re no better than him then,” Ignis said, “You’re making someone else pay for Noctis’ grandfather’s mistakes! You say you went for Noctis to hurt Regis, but in truth the one you want to get back at is dead and buried already.”

Ardyn snorted and went up to Ignis, grabbing him by his chin.

“Did I ever suggest that I’m a good person?” he asked and tilted his head to the side, “Am I worse than Noctis’ grandfather? Absolutely. I haven’t claimed anything else. At least I own up to it.”

He let go of Ignis and turned to look at Noctis again.

“To think that we’re related…”

“Funny,” Noctis rolled his eyes.

“No, really,” Ardyn continued, “Not because my father was a part of the Caelum family, but because he actually was a Caelum. We _are_ related. Quite distant relatives, but still.”

“… _what_?”

“Your grandfather killed his own blood out of fear. I guess he was afraid that the others would follow my father’s example and leave… so he made an example out of them.”

“Impossible,” Ignis murmured, “We would have known about you, it’s -,”

“You don’t think I’m capable of cleaning?” Ardyn smirked as he crossed his arms, “It’s not that hard to get rid of an identity and get yourself a new one. From there on… all I had to do was be patient. Gain dear Iedolas’ trust… truth be told I hadn’t expected to rise to the top of the Niflheim family, but it certainly made it easier to go through with my plans.”

Noctis didn’t know what to say or think. He was related to Ardyn by blood? His family had been part of the Caelum syndicate? It was a lot to take in. At least the reasoning behind the kidnapping was out in the open, even if it didn’t make any sense since Noctis’ grandfather had died before Noctis even was born. The one Ardyn truly wanted to suffer wasn’t around to experience it.

He wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or upset about knowing Ardyn’s reasoning. Relief for not being completely in the dark, but upset because it didn’t change anything about the situation. They were still in captivity, and they were still going to die in there. At least he’d die knowing why.

He twitched as the door suddenly opened up and two men came in. Noctis recognized one of them as having been one to escort both him and Ignis between rooms before, the other was new to him.

“Finally, what took you so long?”

“I apologize, sir” one of the men said and bowed his head, “We had some issues. Biggs handled shipments but I couldn’t get hold of him, so had to go looking myself.”

“It’s fine,” Ardyn shrugged as he took and inspected the bottle offered to him, “We did manage to have a nice conversation while we waited. No harm done.”

Noctis looked at the bottle in Ardyn’s hand, not able to see what it said on it. Part of him wanted to ask, but he also didn’t want to give Ardyn the pleasure of knowing that he was feeling a bit nervous. Just as he was about to give in and actually ask, Ardyn spoke up.

“Hold him,” Ardyn pointed at Ignis, “Tilt his head back for me.”

“What… what are you doing?” Noctis asked, his eyes widening as he watched the two men headed up to Ignis, standing behind him.

One of them put his hands on Ignis’ shoulders while the other grabbed Ignis’ head and tilted it back with force, just as he had been told.

“What -,”

“You said you didn’t mind punishment,” Ardyn said as he approached Ignis, glancing back at Noctis, “I never said that _you_ would be the one receiving it. Clearly you don’t care for your own wellbeing, but him?”

“No,” Noctis shook his head wildly, “Not him, please, I’ll do anything -,”

“But what can you give me that I don’t already have, Noctis? I take what I want from you,” Ardyn smirked, “You have nothing to give that I cannot take with my own hands.”

“I…”

“It’s alright,” Ignis spoke up, trying to look over at Noctis, “Don’t worry.”

It was just like Ignis trying to calm Noctis down in a terrible situation, even if he himself was the one who currently was in most danger. It made Noctis want to scream, and so he did. He screamed bloody murder at Ardyn, cursing him out but it only seemed to amuse him.

“How sweet, he’s throwing a temper tantrum over you,” Ardyn cooed as he patted Ignis cheek, “It’s too bad, you’ve got quite a nice face as well. But alas… Noctis clearly needs to learn his place, and if it’s not by punishing him, then… sadly, that falls onto you. What a tragedy.”

Noctis could tell that Ignis was tensing up, but if he was scared he hardly showed it. Instead he glared at Ardyn, not saying a single word as the other grabbed the container on the table.

“Now… Noctis was the one who refused to look at you…so technically I should be doing this to him,” Ardyn unscrewed the cork of the bottle he was holding, “But you’ll be the one paying the price.”

Noctis opened his mouth, about to ask what the hell was in the bottle, but Ardyn didn’t waste any more time and tipped the bottle over, right over Ignis’ left eye.

For a moment Noctis’ expected Ignis to scream, but he didn’t. He did however struggle in the chair, trying to get his head away from the liquid being poured down.

Soon enough Ignis did cry out as he tried to twist his head out of the grip again, but Ardyn stepped back and put the container back on the table.

“A bit anticlimactic,” Ardyn stated after a while, a thoughtful look on his face, “I was expecting more… damage, and screaming. Guess that is what happens when you’ve watched too many movies, hm…”

“What was that? What the hell did you do to him?!”

“Does it matter?” Ardyn asked as he plucked up his phone, “I’ll admit I didn’t do my research properly… let’s see what internet can tell us about hydrofluoric acid…”

Noctis just stared at him, eyes going wide. Acid? He had poured _acid_ over Ignis’ face?

“Oh!” Ardyn exclaimed after a while, “Apparently it can take a while… guess you’ll just have to wait and see when it kicks in. And I’ve learned my own lesson. You really shouldn’t trust what you see on TV…”

Ardyn turned to look at Ignis who was shaking his head and blinking, obviously starting to feel some discomfort.

“Let him go, and please escort them back to their room.”

 

* * *

 

Ignis had somehow managed to keep it together while they walked back. Noctis had tried asking how he was doing, but Ignis didn’t answer. The moment they had been shoved back into their room, Ignis fell to his knees. His breath came in short labored stutters, and the silence was scaring Noctis more than screaming would have.

“Ignis -,”

“It burns, it -,”

“Don’t put your hands in it,” Noctis said quickly when he saw how Ignis was raising a shaky hand towards his face, “Shit… we… we gotta…”

Even if he knew what kind of acid it was that had been poured into Ignis’ eye, he still didn’t know just what it would to do him. But acid was in general something you’d not want on your skin so it couldn’t have been good.

No matter what kind of damage it’d cause, they would have to wash it out. If it was allowed to stay in Ignis’ eye there was no saying how things would end. And it couldn’t be good for the skin of his face either, even if there wasn’t any evident damage yet. Perhaps the fumes weren’t good to breathe in, either.

“Ignis, come here,” Noctis said with shaky voice, putting a hand against Ignis back and urging him to get up so they could get into the small bathroom, “W-we need to rinse your eye out, come on…”

He didn’t like the sound of Ignis’ shaky breathing. It must have started to really hurt.

Once inside the bathroom Noctis grimaced. He realized it wouldn’t be easy to get Ignis’ eye underneath the tap, but they had to do it. He just hoped Ignis wouldn’t make it harder than it had to be. Noctis really didn’t want to force him underneath the water.

“Here, you n-need to… your head needs to be underneath the tap, o-okay?”

Ignis gritted his teeth but nodded as he let Noctis more or less guide his head underneath the tap.

He hadn’t screamed when Ardyn had been pouring the acid into his eye, but when Noctis turned on the water and more or less forced left side of Ignis’ face underneath the stream of water he did scream. And Noctis felt terrible, because he knew that he was indirectly causing Ignis that pain.

And he was the reason why they were like this in the first place. If he just had listened to Ardyn this wouldn’t have happened.

If he just had listened to Ignis from the start…

But he hadn’t.

“I know it hurts,” Noctis swallowed, keeping an arm wrapped around Ignis’ back firmly, “But we need to, i-it’s a chemical burn, I need you to open your eye, it’s -,”

“Can’t,” Ignis managed to choke out, shakings his head.

“Then I’m going to have to open it for you,” Noctis’ hands were trembling, “Y-you understand that, right? I don’t want to hurt you but I have to, s-so you don’t -,”

“I understand.”

It wasn’t much louder than a whisper, and if Noctis hadn’t been close to Ignis, the words would have been drowned out by the flow of water.

Even if Ignis said that he understood, it certainly didn’t make Noctis feel better as Ignis cried out when Noctis had to use his own fingers to part Ignis’ eyelids, allowing water to rinse his eye.

Noctis felt terrible as he forced Ignis to stay underneath the stream of water. He tried to drown out Ignis’ pained noises. He wished he could just focus on something else, but it was impossible.

And did he even deserve to try and tune out Ignis’ pain? Pain caused because Noctis had decided to be childish. Whatever Noctis was feeling at the moment was probably nothing compared to everything Ignis was going through.

“I’m so sorry,” Noctis desperately said and put his forehead against the Ignis’ shoulder, “I have to do this. W-we should keep flushing it for at least a quarter s-since it… it was some chemical and… I’m sorry.”

Ignis didn’t say anything, but he did grab a hold of Noctis’ arm, fingers digging into it painfully.

After a couple of minutes he had at the very least stopped being vocal about the pain, instead he was just breathing irregularly, and his fingers were still digging into Noctis’ arm.

Noctis could only try to silently count seconds in his head, wanting to make sure Ignis stayed underneath the stream of water long enough. In the end they stayed there for more than 15 minutes, Noctis not daring to take any chances, but after a while he reluctantly pulled Ignis away from the sink and turned it off, taking a look at his face.

It was hard to tell how bad the damage was. Noctis wasn’t sure what the next step would be. All he knew about chemical burns was to rinse them with water for a long time, and to get medical help. But they didn’t have the luxury of being able to call a doctor, so Noctis tore off part of his shirt, carefully wrapping it around Ignis’ face so it covered the part that had been touched by the acid.

“Come on,” he murmured once he was done and put an arm around Ignis, pulling him out towards the mattress, “You need to get some rest and -,”

“It’s fine,” Ignis croaked, but despite that he did let Noctis push him down, “Noctis -,”

“Shh,” Noctis hushed him and disappeared for a moment, returning with Ignis’ jacket that had been draped over the chair. He carefully put it over Ignis, hoping it’d offer him at least a bit of comfort.

Then Noctis sat down next to him on the floor and grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it.

“I know there’s not much we can do in here b-but…” Noctis trailed off, “Anything I can do for you, tell me, okay?”

“Noctis…”

“Yes?”

“This… it’s not your fault.”

Noctis let out an awkward laugh and turned his face away, “For once please don’t try to protect me.”

“I mean it, Noct,” Ignis murmured and gingerly touched the fabric that was covering his damaged eye, “You thought he was going to punish you, you didn’t… I know you would never have purposely put me in harm’s way. Even if it is your actions that resulted in this… you had no way of knowing this would happen.”

“That is just another reason why I shouldn’t have decided to mouth off,” Noctis murmured, “It was stupid. And I know that he knows that I care about you a-and… it was just a really fucking stupid risk.”

“To be fair, I do not blame you… I was also starting to really tire of him and his ways,” Ignis sighed and grimaced as he shifted a bit, “But Noct… promise me you won’t do anything like that again. If he… if he has no intentions of letting us live, then he _could_ kill you without warning. It is safest to play by his rules, as it gives the family more time to try and find us.”

Noctis nodded. He hoped they’d be found, but if not he just wished Ardyn could end it fast. But that wasn’t likely to happen. Right now he felt as if they both needed the hope, so he didn’t question Ignis.

“You should rest,” Noctis said once more, “Do you need something? Anything?”

“Would you rest with me, please? It’s quite chilly, I’m afraid that entire ordeal took quite a lot out of me. And you, too.”

“No, it’s -,”

“Izunia was raping you, it was hardly a -,”

“It’s temporary,” Noctis said as he moved to lie down next to Ignis, more or less spooning him to share some body heat, “He poured acid into your eye, Ignis.”

“How… how did it look?”

“I… it was hard to tell,” Noctis said quietly, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how bad it’ll be.”

“It’s alright. I… I think this eye won’t make it anyway.”

“You don’t know that,” Noctis said softly, “We should clean it out again later… I know it sucks but it could get infected and -,”

“I know,” Ignis said, sounding strained, “Thank you. For caring for me.”

“Just repaying the debt,” Noctis smiled weakly as he wrapped an arm around Ignis, “Now _rest_.”

Ignis sighed but he did relax a bit. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to sleep, and Noctis wouldn’t blame him. He had no idea what kind of acid it was that Ardyn had poured into Ignis’ eye, but no matter what it couldn’t be good, and it had to hurt really bad.

So far the skin didn’t look too bad, but Noctis had a feeling that the worst of it hadn’t appeared yet. They’d have to get out soon to ensure Ignis’ safety, but that felt hopeless.

Noctis took a shaky breath and wrapped an arm around Ignis, hoping it offered some comfort.

 

* * *

 

After letting Gladio take him back to the estate, Prompto hadn’t had much to do. He was allowed to move within the building, but Gladio had told the men outside the room to not let him go anywhere alone, so Prompto didn’t see any point in leaving.

He’d just feel weird having someone tailing him. Part of him wondered if that was how Noctis felt all the time, knowing that he had people following him.

He sighed as he twisted in Noctis’ bed, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He had lost count of how many times he had turned and sighed. He hadn’t gotten any sleep during night or day, that was for sure, and now the sun was starting to set.

Prompto was about to pull a pillow over his face when suddenly his phone started buzzing, making him almost jump out of bed. With shaky hands he grabbed for it, eyes narrowing a bit upon seeing ‘No caller ID’ on his screen. Initially he thought of ignoring it, no call so far had turned out to be about Noctis. But he couldn’t take any chances.

“Hello?” he said, sounding a bit tentative, “Who is this?”

_“You’re the one who put up posters of the Caelum kid?”_

Prompto’s eyes widened a bit and he sat up straight in bed, “Y-yeah, that’s me.”

_“Prompto Argentum, huh? It was a bold move putting up those posters. Especially considering how easy it would have been for Niflheim to send someone to take you out.”_

“Are you threatening me?” Prompto asked, suddenly feeling quite glad that Gladio had decided to take him back to the estate. He could hear the person laugh in the background.

_“No, kid, just telling you. I’m not into the entire kidnapping and killing innocent youths thing.”_

“W-who are you and... why did you call?”

Never before had such a short moment of silence felt so long before the person finally answered.

_“You don’t need to know who I am, but I’m calling you because I know where your boyfriend is.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was painful to write, ouch. But at least there's one positive thing in this chapter! THERE IS HOPE NOW. (I swear things are getting better).  
> Sorry it took so long. I rewrote three times because there was something that bothered me, but I managed to figure out what so it was worth taking some extra time to rewrite all those times! Thanks a lot for all of the support and for being with me on this emotional roller coaster! I'm quite touched by the comments last time, thanks for being so understanding. Still going through a lot of bad days but I really do love writing so I try to motivate myself whenever possible! And now I'm going on vacation, so I'll hopefully have some time to relax and write :)
> 
> Also huge thanks to my friend Dani for beta reading again (and for throwing title suggestions at me), you're great and fantastic! <3


	16. The breakthrough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:**  
>  None
> 
> Sorry that it took five months! Enjoy!  
> (Got some more things to say in the end notes!)

_I know where your boyfriend is._

The moment Prompto heard those words he could swear that his heart almost stopped beating for a moment, only to then start hammering inside his chest. His fingers felt numb, making him desperately hold on to his phone even tighter so he didn't risk dropping it.

_“If you’re still there you might want to grab some pen and paper.”_

He didn’t reply, instead he started to frantically look around in the room, ending up rummaging through some of the drawers, in a desk hoping that Noctis had left things behind. Luckily enough he found a bunch of notebooks and some pencils. He opened it up, flipping past some doodles and what he assumed was old school notes, then he grabbed a pen with his free hand, taking a deep breath and urging himself to stop shaking.

“Got it,” he said, realizing that his voice was trembling just as much as his hands were, “What can you tell me?”

_“I’m going to give you coordinates to the building he’s in. Repeat after me when I’m done.”_

The numbers on their own didn’t tell Prompto anything, but he wrote them down, knowing that as long as he got every number right it could be found through Google Maps or any other navigation app or site. He had to start over his writing because his hand was shaking too much, but after repeating the numbers  _twice_  to the woman he felt fairly confident that he had gotten them right.

_“Next you need to know a couple of things about the building... wait, take a right –“_

“Uh, in the building?”

_“No, not you, I… forget it, just listen to me, kid. There’s some people in the building but it could honestly be worse. It should be possible getting in and out undetected but it’s a tricky path. You need to write this down, too.”_

“On it,” Prompto took another deep breath.

_“There’s a small forest before the building appears. You’ll want to park there because if you go all the way by car you’ll instantly be found and then helping you has been for nothing. Park the car, and head west from there. Not sure about the terrain in the forest, but after perhaps 20 minutes or so you should reach a fence. It’s old and shabby, there are probably holes. If not, well, make your own damned hole. It’s not rocket science, just keep silent cause there might be one or two people on guard outside.”_

“Forest, west, fence… got it,” Prompto murmured, staring down at the paper, “Then?”

Then followed a detailed description on how to get to the room that Noctis supposedly was located in. He repeated everything after her to get a confirmation that he had gotten it right. A single mistake could complicate everything so he was very careful to get every little detail down.

_“Can’t guarantee he’s still in that room, but that’s where Izunia kept him and his bodyguard the past days. That’s all I’ve got for you. If you want to save him you better hurry and let them know.”_

Them? She had to mean the Caelum family. She didn’t expect him to go into it on his own. And even if he wanted to go there, he was stuck in the building and he  _knew_  that he wasn’t the person most capable of saving Noctis and Ignis. Someone else would have to go in. Someone who could be stealthy and fight if necessary.

He swallowed nervously.

“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

_“Let's just say that I’m not a fan of the family’s new direction since Aldercapt kicked the bucket. So, I’ve relied the information, do what you want with it. I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince you. Take it or leave it.”_

“O-okay, thanks, I’ll let them know. Thanks, again.”

_“One last thing, there’s a traitor in the Caelum family. You better think long and hard about who you tell.”_

Prompto’s eyes widened and he was just about to ask who the traitor was when he realize that she just had hung up on him.

He lowered the phone, staring at the screen, considering trying to call her again, but there had been no caller ID. And it probably didn't matter. If she had given him the information to find Noctis she would surely have told him the traitor’s name if she knew it.

And he didn’t have time to keep grasping for more information. He knew they were getting close to a deadline, and he was sure that things would get a lot worse if they didn’t do something before that.

With shaky hands he folded the paper and shoved it into the pocket of his hoodie before hurrying towards the door. He wasn’t going to leave the building, but he definitely had to talk to Noctis’ father, and it had to be alone. He couldn’t tell anyone before that, not even Gladio.

The moment he stepped out of the room someone cleared their throat, making Prompto almost trip as he quickly turn towards the sound. A man was standing there, staring him down. Obviously the one person who had been unfortunate enough to be stationed there to make sure Prompto didn’t run away like he had done from his own apartment.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“I, uhm, you see… I… I’m…” Prompto stuttered as he struggled to come up with a good excuse, “I need to see, uh, Mr Caelum?”

“You need to see the boss?”

“Yeah, I…” he paused and took a deep breath, trying to sound more confident as he spoke up again, “Yes, I do need to see the boss.  _Now_.”

“Sorry, kid,” the man crossed his arms and shook his head, “You’re staying put. Orders from above.”

“But it’s really important that I see him now!” Prompto exclaimed, “It can’t wait!”

“Listen, I don’t know the details, but I understand that you don’t wanna sit holed up in there, trust me,” the man sighed heavily, “You think I wanna be your babysitter? I don’t. Get your ass back in there and behave so both of us can go back to being bored out of our damned skulls, separately.”

“You don’t understand, it’s about…”

Prompto trailed off. He still couldn’t explain what it was about, and he didn’t have time to keep arguing or come up with lies. Even minutes were precious, and he couldn’t afford losing any more of them.

So he made a choice. Prompto scoffed, shook his head and turned around quickly, starting to walk away with firm steps, not looking back as he spoke up.

“You know what? I don’t care. I’m going to see Mr Caelum with or without your permission.”

He didn’t get very far until the man caught up with him. Prompto knew that he had a chance if he tried to run for it, but he was also fairly sure that he’d get lost if he started to mindlessly run and then he would waste even more time. Besides, what could the guy do? It wasn't as if he could shoot Prompto.

The moment a hand landed on Prompto’s shoulder he pulled out of the grip and tried to keep walking, but the man only took a more forceful grip on his arm and yanked him back.

“Come here you goddamned –“

“Let go of me!” Prompto aimed a kick at the man’s leg but he missed.

“Listen you little shit, I’ll – FUCK!”

Whatever the man was planning to say was replaced by a string of curses as Prompto bit down on the hand gripping his wrist. It was effective, making the man let go of him because Prompto had bit  _hard._

Prompto started baking away quickly, gasping as his back hit something solid.

“What’s going on here?”

Prompto’s eyes widened and he turned around, coming face to face with Cor Leonis.

“Sir,” the man's demeanor immediately changed as he bowed his head in respect to Cor, “I apologize. He tried to get out of the room, I tried to stop him, but he put up a fight.”

Cor frowned, eyes going from the man who was cradling his hand with obvious bite marks, and then he looked over at Prompto.

“You do know that we took you here for your own safety, Mr Argentum.”

“I know,” Prompto grimaced, hoping that Cor was more reasonable, “I’ll go right back after this but I really need to see Noctis’ father, it’s important. Like, super important.”

“And why is it so important? You must understand that we’re all really busy right now. We don’t have time for –“

“It’s about... about Noct,” Prompto murmured, hoping the man who had stood guard didn’t hear, “I can’t say more. I need to speak to Mr Caelum. I can’t… I can’t say more. Please, I just need five minutes. Then I’ll gladly head back and stay inside for however long you want to keep me there, even if that means forever. I’ll happily spend the rest of my days in that room if I can see him, it’s  _that_  important.”

Cor stared at him for a while, making Prompto nervous. It was so hard reading him, impossible to tell what he was thinking. His face didn’t even give away any emotion, but Prompto could tell that he had dark circles underneath his eyes. It seemed no one was getting any sleep lately, and he could relate.

“Fine,” Cor said after a while, looking over at the man who had stopped Prompto, “I’ll take him from here. I’ll have him escorted back later so stay around unless I dismiss you.”

“I... if you say so, sir.”

Prompto let out a breath of relief as Cor put his hand against Prompto’s back, giving him a gentle push to start walking.

“Can’t guarantee you those five minutes because we’re running out of time.”

“It doesn’t even have to be five minutes,” Prompto murmured, “I can make it in one if I really need to. And by then he’ll want to listen to me.”

Cor raised an eyebrow and glanced at Prompto as they headed towards Regis’ study, “Really?”

“I'm sorry but I can't say more. It’s… it’s up to Mr Caelum to decide what he wants to do.”

Prompto thought Cor seemed trustworthy, but he didn’t really know much about him. It was obvious that Regis trusted Cor, and that he was respected in the family since people treated him with the same amount of respect they seemed to treat Regis with. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a traitor. It wasn't up to Prompto to decide who could be trusted or not.

Anyone could be a traitor. Prompto hated thinking it, and he hoped it wasn’t true, but even Gladio could be. Prompto really hadn’t been around long enough to know. His gut said no, though, because Gladio's reactions seemed too earnest, and the way he cared about Ignis and Noctis made it seem unlikely.

He had to force that thought out of his head because it made him feel sick. No, it couldn’t be Gladio. He was sure it wasn’t.

“We’re here,” Cor said after a couple of minutes of brisk walking, he knocked right away and it didn't take long before the door was opened up by Clarus who frowned upon seeing Cor.

“You forgot something? You were just here.”

“It’s not me,” Cor stepped in and pushed Prompto inside as well, turning towards Regis, “Sir, Argentum wants a word with you.”

Regis was sitting by his desk, looking absolutely exhausted. Prompto almost felt as if Regis since last time he saw him.

“I’m sorry, but I was just about to make a couple of important calls –“

“Just a couple of minutes,” Prompto quickly said. He couldn’t get sent away now that he actually was in the room, “It’s important. I need to speak to you alone, I beg you, just give me a minute of your time! Then you decide what you want to do. But I need to tell you this.”

Regis looked over at Clarus and exchanged a look that Prompto quite couldn’t read. But Clarus didn’t look happy, that much was clear.

“Regis…” Clarus shook his head, obviously not approving.

“I’ll give you two minutes,” Regis said after a couple of seconds of silent contemplation, “Please leave us for now.”

“Are you certain?” Clarus asked, looking at Prompto as if he thought he was up to something bad. Prompto didn't blame him.

“Yes, I certainly am."

Clarus nodded in confirmation and then headed out followed by Cor who shut the door, leaving Prompto alone with Regis, just as he had wished.

“Quickly then, I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time on my hands,” Regis said and leaned forward over his desk, looking at Prompto expectantly.

“Uh, I… I might know where Noctis is,” Prompto said and pulled the paper out of his pocket with shaky hands, placing it on the desk and sliding it closer to Regis who unfolded it, “You see, before Gladio took me here I put up some missing person posters. I, uh, there was no name. Just a picture of Noct, and my contact info… I just got a phone call from a woman who gave me these coordinates, and instructions on how to navigate the building…”

For a while Regis just stared blankly at the paper, silently repeating the numbers.

“How –“

“I can’t guarantee that it’s true. I asked her how… how I was supposed to know it wasn’t a trap, you know?” Prompto said with a nervous laugh, “She just told me that she didn’t like the way NIflheim does things now, and that it was up to me to decide if I believe her or not. And she said that you got a traitor in the family. That’s why I needed to get you alone. I don’t know who I could trust.”

After that a heavy silence hung in the air. Prompto had said what he needed to say, and Regis seemed to be at a loss for words, not sure what to say. In the end Prompto couldn’t take the silence.

“That’s all,” he said and swallowed nervously, “It’s  _something_ , and that… that’s better than nothing, right? From what I gathered, you’ve not been able to progress much, but I could be wrong…”

“No, you're definitely right about that,” Regis muttered and took a deep breath, “So I have a traitor if she’s to be believed…”

“Seems so,” Prompto nodded, “I don’t know who you trust, I… I considered calling Gladio but… well, I have said what I needed to say. I can head back and I won’t make a peep -”

“No,” Regis said firmly, a serious look on his face, “I want you to stay for a while… I'm going to get the others back in here. I’d trust any Amicitia with my life… And the day Cor betrays this family…? Then I don’t know the meaning of the word trust any longer. I need council, but I also want you here since you were the one to receive the phone call. We can't afford wasting time running back and forth.”

Prompto nodded and bit his lip, not sure what to do. Regis seemed to sense this and he smiled warily, gesturing towards a chair.

“Please take a seat while I go fetch Clarus and Cor.

“Thanks,” Prompto let out a sigh of relief and sat down, hardly noticing Regis walking past him.

It was as if all of the energy had been drained out of him, he had been filled with adrenaline and nervous energy, but now that he finally had relied his information he felt exhausted once more. Exhausted, but at least hopeful.

 

* * *

 

Gladio was running through a hallway in the Caelum estate, not even apologizing the times he almost ran into someone. He was in a hurry, and for the first time in days he was feeling a tiny bit of hope.

His father had called him just a while ago to let him know there was new information about Noctis and Ignis whereabouts. Gladio had  _almost_  driven off of the road at a point, and he was sure he once more had broken every speed limit on his way back to the estate, but thankfully he hadn’t been far away and there hadn't been any other cars on that road.

He needed this. He needed some good news.

When he reached the study he didn’t even bother knocking as he stormed inside, almost tripping into the room and making everyone silence and stare at him.

“I… came… as fast as I could,” he managed to get out, struggling to catch his breath as he closed the door, “What are the… the news?”

He glanced around, seeing Cor and Clarus standing behind Regis by a computer screen. Prompto was sitting in the room, too, to Gladio’s surprise, but he didn’t question it. He needed to know more than what Clarus had told him by phone.

“We possibly have a location,” Cor pointed out and waved at him to approach, “We have Argentum to thank for that since he put up missing person posters of Noctis. A woman contacted him with coordinates and quite a detailed description of where Noctis and Ignis are located.”

Gladio took another deep breath to steady his erratic breathing and he approached, looking at the screen. He could see coordinates having been entered, and what looked like a satellite image was showing a building from above.

“Abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town,” Cor reached over and grabbed the computer mouse, zooming out to show where it was in relation to their position, “Shouldn’t take too long to get there if we drive fast. Perhaps half an hour. I could give the head of the police department a call and make him call off any police officers from that road. He owes us more than one favor.”

“The last thing we need is the police intervening,” Regis agreed with a nod, “But... it’s going to be a risk.”

“Of course,” Cor straightened up, “We have no idea what we’ll walk into. It may be a trap, but if you go there tomorrow to go through with Izunia’s deal, then there is no saying what will happen. It’s possible that all of you will end up killed. This is a chance.”

Clarus nodded in agreement and handed Gladio a piece of paper which he quickly looked over. It was coordinates, probably the ones he just had seen on the screen, followed by what seemed to be instructions of how to get somewhere, he guessed it was Noctis' location.

“So… we get inside and get them out,” Gladio said, taking in the instructions step by step, “These should lead us straight to them, right?”

“If the source is to be believed, yes,” Cor pointed out, “We have no way of contacting her again.”

“No matter what, we can’t send in an infantry,” Clarus muttered, “If it’s a trap then we’d need a lot of men, but if it isn’t a trap… it’s be far too noticeable, and dangerous with Noctis and Ignis in the building. And even if we  _wanted_  to send in more men, we don’t know who the traitor is.”

“Traitor?” Gladio repeated, frowning, “There’s a traitor?”

“Once more information that Mr Argentum received,” Cor said, looking over at Prompto who was nervously fiddling with his phone, twisting it around in his hands, “This information hasn't left the room.”

“I don’t dare trusting anyone else at this moment,” Regis said and sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, “I can’t risk jeopardizing them even more.”

“I’ll go alone.”

Everyone turned to look at Gladio whose grip on the note was tightening.

“It’s going to –“

“You said that you only trust those who are in this room,” Gladio said, looking over all of them, “Dad should be staying with you for safety, and it’d be idiotic sending Cor into the fray in case something happens. He’s the one able to pull strings everywhere. I’m expendable –“

“Son –“

“I  _am_ , in the sense of use to the family,” Gladio shrugged, “I am not stupid, but Cor is a greater asset to the family. And… I need to do this. My job is protecting Noct, and if it’s so is the last fucking thing I’ll do, it’s getting them out because I love them both. And I’ll do  _anything_  it takes to get them out of there alive. Noctis is like a brother to me, and Ignis…”

He took a deep breath, not trusting himself to continue his previous sentence. He couldn't get too emotional. Ignis would have told him to stay calm and collected if he was there with them.

“I  _will_  get them out of there. Send me alone.”

“You can’t be seen,” Cor said sternly, a hard look on his face, “If you’re as much as spotted then-,”

“I  _know_ ,” Gladio snapped, “If I am seen I have to silently dispose of the person. And I won’t go try finding Izunia even if I’d like to break his fucking neck. I get that their safety is more important. Get in unnoticed, get Noctis and Ignis, and then get out unnoticed. That’s the plan, right? I can do it. Trust me.”

Clarus didn’t look happy but he didn’t say anything more about it. Regis looked over at Cor after a while, since he was the one who usually came up with the best tactics. He had seen and been through a lot, things that had been terrible but ultimately had helped him get damned good at what he did. They couldn’t ask for a better strategist.

“I think it’s the best we can do right now,” Cor said, “If Gladio gets them out and to a safe distance away, then we can send in people to try and apprehend Izunia. Of course there’s a risk that he gets away depending on how long it takes them to notice that something is awry, and there's the possibility that he isn't in there at all right now. We only know approximately how many men he have in the building, but we don’t know a lot of how often they check on Noctis.”

“And then there’s the leak,” Clarus crossed his arms, “We need to find it and eliminate it. Until then we can’t operate normally.”

“That is something that is bothering me quite a bit,” Regis murmured, “I trust all of you. But at the same time it can only be someone who I’ve considered quite close. The information I’ve shared with the rest of the family has been severely limited to avoid making the situation worse. We've all seen what Izunia is capable of and I haven't wished to anger him further.”

“Then there’s not a lot of people to pick from…” Cor trailed off, but didn't say anything more even if he possibly had someone in mind.

Gladio frowned, immediately one name popped up into his mind.

“I don’t like throwing around accusations, but Drautos has been acting off lately,” Gladio said, thinking back to several interactions he had had the last couple of months, “Nyx Ulric commented on it too when I talked with him a while ago. Just shrugged it off as him being stressed but… just be careful about him.”

“I hope it isn’t so, he’s been at our side for quite a long time but for now he  _is_  a suspect,” Regis sighed, “First thing’s first, though. Getting Noctis out of there, and Ignis, of course. The traitor can be dealt with later.”

“But -”

“We won’t send people in until Ignis and Noctis are in safety, and at that point it won’t matter if the traitor has found out,” Regis said, “I’ll let Titus know then, too… and then we’ll see what happens. I want him here, in this room. The men under his command are some of our best, and I’d like for them to be sent in afterwards.”

“Are we talking cleanup, or…" Cor trailed off, "How do you wan tit handled?"

“If possible no deaths,” Regis murmured, “If the woman who called Prompto is speaking the truth, then it’s fairly certain that there are others who are not comfortable with the way Izunia is running the Niflheim family. It would be a pity killing innocents… but at the same time I don’t want anyone involved in Noctis and Ignis’ kidnapping to be left off of the hook.”

“Alright, so…” Gladio turned towards Prompto, holding up the paper, “These are the instructions she gave you?”

"Yeah," Prompto nodded, “I repeated everything back to her to confirm I got everything right. There’s no saying if they still are in the room but that’s where they’ve been kept most of the time…”

Gladio nodded and looked at the instructions again. Prompto had been pretty detailed so Gladio could understand the description. Getting to the building was no issue, he had seen the map and he could just enter it into his own phone or GPS while going there. Parking in the forest and then taking a side door was obvious, but it got a bit complicated on the inside. The building seemed to be quite big, with a basement that had a lot of twists and turns. He’d have to memorize it on his way there.

“Okay if I take this with me?”

Cor nodded, “Go ahead, I already have a copy of it.”

“Good, then I’m leaving.”

“Gladiolus…” Regis stood up and put a hand on his shoulder before he could leave, “Please… get them home safe. And you, as well. You are all important to me.”

Gladio looked into Regis’ tired eyes, seeing nothing more than a tired father, and someone who had been like an uncle to him while growing up.

“I promise,” Gladio said, determined to not go back on his word, “I’ll get them back.”

With that Regis nodded and let go of him.

Gladio looked over at Clarus, “Be careful here, old man.”

“Listen to your own advice,” Clarus scoffed and sighed, “Go then. Come back alive.”

“I’ll get the police off of the roads for you,” Cor said, his phone already by his ear, “I’ll text the moment it’s clear.”

“Thanks.”

With that Gladio left the room, heading towards his car.

It was hard not pushing the car's speed to its limits right away. Sure he  _could_  but now he didn’t want to afford getting caught before Cor had called the police off.

As he looked at the GPS in his car the nerves finally hit.

This was it. It was their final (and only) chance to get Noctis and Ignis back home considering the deadline for Ardyn’s offer was coming up fast.

Of course it could be a trap, he had to try and mentally prepare for that. But it was their only lead, and Gladio was ready to take anything that was thrown at him.

And  he had to admit that he was impressed by Prompto. If the kid had asked him if it was a good idea to put up posters Gladio would surely have said no, and Prompto must have known that. He could only assume that he had been putting up those posters when he had been told to not leave his apartment.

Now he was glad that the kid hadn’t listened to him, because without him they would have had zero leads. If he got out of this alive, he would have to make sure to actually apologize to Prompto and thank him. Noctis been lucky to find someone who did so much for him.

After a couple of minutes he received a text from Cor, only saying "done".

Thankfully the road wasn't heavily trafficked, making it easy to speed without fear of getting into an accident.

The drive was pretty fast, but to Gladio it felt terribly long. Especially the last part of the road when he turned off all lights on the car to hopefully not be noticed as he drove into the forest he had been instructed to park in. It wasn't easy since it was quite dark, but he managed to get the car far enough to not be spotted from the road.

The walk westwards through the forest was probably the worst part since there was no path, but just as he was starting to wonder if he was heading the wrong direction he could see lights in the distance.

“I’ll be damned…” Gladio murmured as he approached, the forest was getting thinner and he could see the fence, and it indeed was broken in several places.

He could spot some people standing guard at the front of the building. Not obviously so, but after having spent so many years in the yakuza Gladio could tell when someone was guarding something. There didn’t seem to be anyone near that exit in the back though.

Getting into the building wasn't an issue, but once he had closed the door behind himself he felt more on edge than ever before.

Now he was truly close if the woman was telling the truth. Part of him wanted to grab his gun to be prepared to kill, but at the same time he didn’t want to alert someone to his presence.  _If_  he met someone on the way it was possible that he could talk himself out of it. He was charismatic, and he doubted everyone in the Niflheim family knew everyone’s faces. He could pretend to be one of them, only getting violent if confronted.

He  _almost_  run into someone on his way down to the basement, but he managed to take a quick turn and pressed his back against a wall, hoping that whoever it was wasn’t heading his way.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either…” a voice said, followed by a sigh, “Starting to feel like a personal vendetta, you know? You know what he’s asking for in return for the kid?”

“No idea. I asked Biggs the other day but… he didn’t know either. Thought he'd know considering Highwind, you know? Haven't seen either of them around lately though... thought Biggs was supposed to be here, at least. Not sure about Highwind.”

“You think Izunia told Highwind shit? Seems like the type of guy whose secrets have secrets. At least Aldercapt was pretty transparent, but Izunia? Ugh.”

“Shut it,” the other one hushed, “Not sure about you but I at least want to keep my head attached to my body!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Gladio exhaled slowly as the voices became more and more distant. Once he couldn’t hear any footsteps any longer he finally stepped out and started getting back on track again. He had grabbed the note, looking at it briefly to confirm the directions. He couldn't keep staring at it while fidning his way, he couldn't get too distracted.

_Left, left, forward, right… corridor with four doors... second door to the right…_

He glanced around, quickly taking the turns that Prompto had provided him with. He hoped there was nothing wrong, because if he was getting the wrong directions it wouldn't be easy finding Noctis and Ignis. Thankfully he soon enough did reach a corridor with four doors, just like the note said.

As he approached and carefully pulled the handle down his heart felt as if it was going to break through his rib cage. And of course the damned door was locked.

Of course it had been wishful thinking, hoping that it’d be unlocked. With a grimace he started digging through his pockets, coming up with a small lockpicking kit. This was more of Ignis’ forte. Gladio preferred kicking doors down because it was faster, but he couldn’t afford causing a ruckus that potentially could put Noctis and Ignis in danger.

 _Patience_.

He could almost hear Ignis’ voice in his head. He had to take a deep breath, try to keep a steady hand. If he rushed he’d just have to keep starting over.

 

* * *

 

The hours was hard to keep track off, and every sound made Noctis twitch. They had been left alone for too long, so anytime he heard footsteps by the door he feared it was time for one of them, or both, to get dragged away again. He had spent the past hours just staring at the door, occasionally glancing at Ignis who was sleeping next to him, but so far no one had entered.

But now the handle was pulled down, followed by some strange sounds that he couldn't place.

“Ignis…” he murmured, putting a hand on Ignis and gently shaking him awake so he wouldn't have to get brutally woken up by someone.

“What…?” Ignis mumbled, grimacing as he touched the fabric covering the damaged part of his face, as if he had hoped it was just a bad dream.

Noctis would have felt bad for it, but the sounds coming from the door was more urgent.

“Something… someone is at the door…”

At that Ignis sat up quickly, looking over towards the door anxiously. Noctis quietly grabbed Ignis’ hand and swallowed. They hadn’t seen anyone for a while. Probably about half a day ago or so someone had come with something for them to eat, but they hadn’t been taken out of the room.

They had hardly touched the food though, both feeling as if it could have been poisoned considering how Ardyn was treating them. If he could chop of their fingers and pour acid on their faces then poisoning them was certainly not off of the list.

Noctis felt his heart start hammering in his chest as the door finally clicked and the handle was slowly pulled down. It was strange, no one had been so hesitant. People seemed to like storming into the room, scaring them half to death. To be honest this was almost worse.

Once the door was fully open Noctis squinted, just seeing a huge silhouette. Someone new, then. He felt his stomach twist. He didn’t like new people. You never knew what to expect.

“Who…”

He gasped, putting a hand over his mouth as the person stepped into the room. That wasn’t a stranger. It was  _Gladio_. Gladio was standing in front of them, looking as shocked as Noctis felt.

“Gladio? Is it really… is that you?” Ignis asked, his voice hoarse, “You are -”

“Shhh,” Gladio hushed, quickly approaching, “Up. You good to walk?”

Noctis nodded, not daring to speak even if he wanted to. He so many questions running through his head, but it could wait. The still logical part of him knew that if they wanted to get out, he had to listen to Gladio.

“Just stay quiet and follow me, alright?” Gladio whispered, “Let me handle anything that -”

“Gun?” Ignis murmured quietly.

Gladio stopped for a moment, staring at Ignis’ face with concern in his eyes. It was obvious that he wanted to ask about the fabric covering one half of his face, but he didn’t. Instead he silently pulled one gun out of its holster and handed it to Ignis.

“Noct, in front of me,” Ignis murmured, “I’ll cover from behind in case something happens.”

Noctis wanted to protest. Just a couple of hours ago Ignis had been a mess, but now it was as if he was back into full professional mode. Survival tactic, probably. And to be fair, Noctis hadn’t believed that they’d survive to get out. Both of them had given up, but now there was hope. Unless it was a dream. He hoped it wasn't. He wouldn't be able to take that.

Noctis blinked in surprise as a gun suddenly was placed in his hands too.

“Emergency only,” Gladio whispered, “Now let’s get going. Not a word.”

He didn't have to be told twice. The moment Gladio started moving, Noctis and Ignis followed him nearby. Gladio checked outside, waiting a bit before gesturing for them to keep going.

Noctis wasn't sure how Gladio had managed to find them. The place was confusing with all the different rooms and turns, but he navigated through it as if he was used to the place. At one point they heard voices, and Noctis almost thought they would get caught, but at that point they took another turn, taking them away from the voices.

But the worst part was the stairs leading up from the basement. They were old and no matter how quiet they tried to be it did make noises. Every time Noctis put some weight on a foot he closed his eyes and just prayed it wouldn’t be too loud. Perhaps his mind was making it out to be louder than it actually was, because he could almost swear the sound was cutting through his ears.

Up the stairs Gladio stopped again, listening carefully. Some talking could be hear in a distance, but nowhere close to them. Once more they were hurrying through a bunch of twists and turns, passing by several doors that he thought looked like exits, but he didn't question Gladio's judgment. There was probably a good reason why they weren't heading through those. And soon enough, even if it felt like forever, they were heading out a quite large metal door and the moment they stepped out Noctis took a deep shaky breath.

The fresh night air felt more refreshing than anything after having spent such a long time in a dark and musty basement. He didn’t say anything as he hurried after Gladio, but he started crying, silent tears running down his face as he felt an ounce of freedom since getting captured. But he was also terrified of being dragged back there. He couldn’t take that. Not again. Not after being  _so close_  to be free from Ardyn. So it was hard embracing the freedom when it felt so fragile.

They came to a stop by a fence, and Gladio walked along it, pointing to a place where it had been cut open. He waved at them to get through it first. And they did.

“Gladio -” it was Ignis speaking up, but he was immediately cut off.

“Not yet,” Gladio murmured and anxiously looked around. Noctis had never seen Gladio look so on edge before.

It felt strange. Both liberating and terrifying. Noctis had never been so happy yet afraid to be outside. Things were going good, but almost too good. He was just waiting for someone to get a jump on them.

He swallowed and felt his grip tighten on the gun.

He had never really liked weapons even if he did have a gun of his own at home. Of course Regis had insisted that he needed to know how to use one. He had wanted Noctis to stay armed at all times, but he had refused. Perhaps he should have kept it with him. If he had been armed before he and Ignis were taken, perhaps things would have been different. But there wasn’t a point in dwelling on what could have been because no matter what, the past couldn’t be changed.

After wandering through the forest for almost half an hour Gladio finally slowed down, and Noctis could see why. In the midst of a bunch of bushes a car was partly hidden.

They wasted no time getting in. Noctis getting into the back while Ignis and Gladio got into the front seats.

“Gladio -”

“I’m sorry,” Gladio said, his fingers digging into the steering wheel as he started driving out of the forest, lights still off to not attract attention before getting out on the road again, “Sorry it took such a damned long time.”

Noctis let out a weak laugh, “Don’t say sorry, you came. That… That’s what matters. You came for us.”

“Yeah well…” Gladio paused and cursed, “Shit, I gotta… just give me a minute…”

Noctis noticed him grabbing for his phone.

“We’re out,” Gladio said, the phone against his ear, “Both of them, yeah. Just got back out on the road again…”

“Gladio -” Noctis began but Gladio hushed him.

“Pretty banged up,” Gladio murmured, “Yeah… yeah I’ll do that. In a moment.”

With that he turned off the call and sighed.

“Gladio, was that… Dad?”

“Cor -”

“You need to call him back,” Noctis said urgently, “If they find out that we’re gone, then Drautos will find out and… Gladio, listen, Drautos is a traitor, he’s working with Ardyn, Dad needs to know right away or -”

“So it  _is_  that fucking bastard,” Gladio gritted his teeth, he wished he had seen something sooner, “Don't worry, I told them Drautos was acting weird. Your dad knows something is up. I'll just text Cor and confirm it."

"Good," Noctis said and tried to relax in the back, closing his eyes briefly.

The week had been hell. Or was it less time? Or more? He wasn't sure any longer. Time had stopped making sense in there.

They spent quite a long time in silence, all the questions that Noctis had wanted to ask before had escaped him, or he was just too exhausted to think. In the end it was Gladio who broke the silence.

“What did they do to you?”

“Nothing I can't handle,” Ignis murmured, “Noctis got the worst of it.”

“Don't listen to him, Ignis needs a doctor,” Noctis snapped, feeling upset at how little Ignis seemed to care for himself, “Izunia poured acid into his eye, I… I’m not sure how long has passed but it’s not more than 24 hours. I don’t think so at least but it… it needs to be looked at. Urgently.”

“Noctis needs a doctor, too,” Ignis said. He sounded frustrated, as if he didn't want the attention to be on him, “We’ve tried to look after the cut after the finger but we haven't had proper medical tools. And he’s been assaulted several times.”

“I’m  _fine_ ,” Noctis murmured, wrapping his arms around himself and looking out the window, “It’s not permanent, it’s -,”

“Iggy’s right,” Gladio said, “You both need medical attention and that’s why we’re going to a hospital. Can get Cor to call in some more favors so we can stay low. Would have taken you guys straight to the estate and had a doctor there but with Drautos being there that’s not an option.”

Part of Noctis wanted to protest, he didn't want to go to a hospital, he wanted to go back to his apartment and just shower and sleep. But he knew that both of them were right. They did need medical attention even if he personally hated to admit it. And perhaps that was the only way to make Ignis go, too.

With a sigh he put his head against the window, quietly counting streetlights in his mind while Ignis and Gladio started to quietly talk about something Noctis couldn't bring himself to listen to.

He had thought freedom would taste sweeter, but the brief feeling he had felt when Gladio had entered the room, and when they had stepped outside, was gone. It was replaced by a heavy feeling he couldn't explain since he knew he should have been happy about it.

Maybe it would feel better later, when Drautos and Ardyn were taken care of. 

Despite the strange feeling, it didn't take too long until exhaustion and the quiet murmuring from Ignis and Gladio lulled him into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry for the terribly long wait! I've had university and a lot of mental health issues going on (the kind which makes you spend weeks in bed just feeling apathetic and uncaring of everything, and if not that it's been terrible anxiety). To be honest I've had this chapter almost done for months, but I've not been able to get myself to finish it. BUT NOW IT IS DOOONE.  
> And wow, another phase of the story is done!
> 
> Also, it might SEEM as if the story is coming to a close considering what happened in the chapter, but that is in no way true. Actually, uh... I think I have material for +10 more chapters? I was considering breaking it up into arcs but the way the story is in my mind it just plays out better if I keep going the way I am doing here. It's split up into different phases in my mind, and we're about to head over from phase 3 to phase 4, and there'll probably be a final phase 5.
> 
> If you're still reading this story after all this time THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STILL BEING ON THE RIDE! I cannot express the amount of gratitude I feel towards those of you who have patiently been waiting for this update. And to the new ones who have hopped aboard, thanks as well for taking the time to read this story! I hope you all will stay on the ride with me, hopefully I'll actually write a bit faster from now on. I know pretty much what will happen throughout the rest of the story, and much is already written down.
> 
> A final thing, this chapter is not beta-read because I wanted to finally publish this. If you find any errors please let me know (here or at my tumblr, cidhighwind). English isn't my first language, and it's 5am so my brain isn't really working with me.


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